) countries about the support those countries will make available to help stabilize the markets in europe – was unimaginable a mere 15 years ago. the global slowdown has implications for israel ’ s economy. interest rates in the major economies are expected to remain low for several years, and this will affect israel ’ s monetary policy. the slowdown has a direct impact on the demand for israel ’ s exports. the situation in europe is likely to have a negative effect on financial stability there, and hence on global financial stability too. this concern has already been reflected in the price of bank shares in israel. nevertheless, israel ’ s economy has reached this situation in a good condition : gdp has grown at good rates in the last several quarters, and unemployment is at its lowest level in about 30 years. the exchange rate of the shekel against the dollar has weakened in the last few months, and is expected to help exports. the trends in the current account are changing : after growing accustomed to a surplus in the last few years, we now expect the current account to be more or less balanced next year. israel ’ s economy can certainly exist in the environment of a balanced current account, but it is a new situation with which we must familiarize ourselves. the interest rate in israel is higher than those in the large advanced economies, and there is space for an interest rate cut should the need arise. bis central bankers ’ speeches israel ’ s economy received a well deserved recognition for its successful achievements in the last eight years, expressed by the recent improved credit rating. in the statement accompanying the revised rating, the rating agency stressed israel ’ s robust budget policy and wise monetary policy, as well as the determined supervision of the banking system. nonetheless, the statement also emphasized the threats on the horizon, and we must continue to adhere to the correct policies that will justify the higher rating we have been afforded, and persist in supporting the economy ’ s strength in the future. the issues that led to the outbreak of the recent demonstrations and to the formation of the trajtenberg committee are serious ones, and reflect serious problems in israel ’ s economy. many of the issues relate to the high cost of living. professor manuel trajtenberg is an excellent economist, and he is experienced in formulating policy recommendations. his appointment as head of the committee was an excellent decision, as was his choice of the other members of the committee to work with him, including, of course, the deputy governor of the bank of israel

nina stoyanova : the history of bulgaria ’ s money welcome address by ms nina stoyanova, deputy governor ( banking department ) of the bulgarian national bank, at the opening of “ the history of money on the bulgarian lands ” exhibition, jointly organised by burgas municipality and the bulgarian national bank, burgas, 10 june 2016. * * * mayor nickolov, dear citizens and guests of burgas, it is a great honour for me to welcome you at the opening of this exhibition entitled ‘ the history of money on the bulgarian lands ’. co - organisers of the exhibition are burgas municipality and the bulgarian national bank. this exhibition comprises coins and coin - like items minted and circulated on today ’ s bulgarian lands from antiquity to the present day, and the major part of these comes from the bnb ’ s museum collection. before we go back in time, i would like to mention that the bulgarian national bank ( bnb ) is one of the oldest public institutions in bulgaria. it was founded immediately after the reestablishment of the bulgarian state, on 25 january 1879, and on 6 june of that same year the first banking transaction was carried out with the bnb ’ s involvement. our central bank is also one of the oldest central banks in the world – the 13th oldest one by date of foundation. today the bnb still is the independent issuing authority of bulgaria. it performs its main objective, as it is written down in the law – to keep the national currency stable – and also the functions relating to its exclusive right to release banknotes and coins into circulation and to maintain the currency circulation in bulgaria. one year after the bnb was founded, the law on the right of minting coins in the principality was adopted, whereby the national monetary unit was created and named ‘ lev ’ and the coins were named ‘ stotinki ’. in 1881 the first bulgarian coins – copper coins in denominations of 2, 5 and 10 stotinki – were minted in england, and in 1882 silver 1 and 2 leva coins were minted in russia. soon the bulgarian lev became widely accepted, facilitating trade payments and fostering the country ’ s economic development. at the same time the new national currency began to play the role of a ‘ national unifier ’, a symbol of the independence and sovereignty of the new bulgaria. for many years the production of bulgarian coins used to be assigned to specialised mints in europe – birmingham