there are no universally superior or “ one - size - fits - all ” frameworks. neither in the areas of monetary policy and banking supervision, nor in the design of regulatory structures or the governance of central banks. alongside the processes of financial integration and global regulations and practices, which are inevitable, we believe that countries should be allowed to retain sufficient levels of flexibility to apply countryspecific solutions. this is especially valid with respect to the area of macro - prudential tools and instruments, in view of the significant differences across countries in their initial conditions or stages of development and convergence. starting with the obvious focus of interest for every central bank – namely monetary policy – i would like to remind you that the bnb is among the few central banks in the world with such recent know - how in two remarkably contrasting monetary policy regimes. since the start of transition from the centrally planned economy 25 years ago and the restoration of the traditional two - tier banking system in bulgaria, we initially practiced discretionary monetary policy, and then after our crisis, we introduced the currency board arrangements in 1997. in addition to conducting monetary policy aimed at maintaining price stability, the bnb was traditionally entrusted with the regulation and supervision of the bulgarian banking system. the banking regulations in bulgaria and the supervisory powers of the bnb were strengthened after our crisis in the mid - 1990s. the bnb has ever since persisted in implementing highly conservative supervisory standards. as a result, today the banking system of bulgaria remains one of those in the eu where no single bank needed to be rescued or supported with taxpayers ’ or central bank money. furthermore, our banking system is already in full compliance with the new capital requirements directive and the capital requirements regulation. for us the new rules, effective as of 1 january 2014, actually represent a loosening of the regulatory framework with respect to the capital requirements for banks. that is the reason why we have decided to implement the highest possible levels of capital buffers as of 2014 – a capital conservation buffer of 2. 5 % and a systemic risk buffer of 3 %. and last but not least, i should not miss to say that since our crisis of the mid - 1990s the tradition of the bulgarian governments to stick to budgetary discipline and prudent fiscal policies has been an important supplementing part to our overall set of financial stability bis central bankers ’ speeches policies. that is the reason why, from a financial stability point of view, bulgaria weathered the recent global crisis exceptionally well. i conclude my remarks here

and initiating payment transactions are to be studied. the observed strong convergence in the activities of payment institutions and electronic money companies justifies their inclusion in a single legal framework and the repeal of the electronic money directive. the scope of the directive may also include hitherto unregulated technical service providers supporting payment services. next, the future architecture of payment services in the european union will be built on immediate payments. in this regard, the commission plans to assess the need for a statutory obligation to participate in the sepa scheme of the european payments committee for immediate credit transfer in euros ( sct inst. ). to encourage the use of immediate payments, consideration is being given to requiring that immediate payment fees be no higher than ordinary credit transfer fees. in bulgaria, borika ad, in close cooperation with the bnb as an operator of the real - time gross settlement payment system ( rings ), is in an advanced stage of development of a project for immediate payments in bgn, based on the requirements of the sepa scheme for immediate credit translations ( sct inst. ). the ambition of the company is in 2021 for the payment service 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches providers in the country to be able to provide their customers with immediate credit transfers in bgn. interconnection and interoperability between the various payment systems providing clearing and settlement is required to ensure cross - border reachability in the execution of immediate credit transfers in euro. in july 2020, the ecb announced its decision to introduce measures to ensure a trans - european scope of immediate payments in euro by the end of 2021. as a result, all payment service providers that have joined the sct inst scheme will be required. and which are available in target 2, become available either as a participant or as an eligible party ( ie through another payment service provider that is a participant ) and in the instant payment service ( tips ) in target 2. the service provides the possibility of settlement in other currencies and is expected to make immediate payments in swedish kroons in 2022 in tips. part of the package of documents related to digital financial services published by the european commission is a proposal for a regulation on the operational sustainability of digital technologies, which contains requirements for risk management related to information and communication technologies in the financial sector, a proposal for a regulation on cryptocurrency markets ; and a proposal for a regulation on a pilot regulation of market infrastructures based on distributed registry technology ( dl