nina stoyanova : innovations statement by ms nina stoyanova, deputy governor and head of the banking department of the bulgarian national bank, at the opening of the financial forum “ innovations ”, organized by association “ bank of the year ”, sofia, 9 june 2021. * * * market developments today are driven by the new technologies. they provide a basis for increasingly diverse and innovative payment products. digitalization of processes and services has led to development in the financial sector in europe further stimulated by the policies of the european and national regulators. payment services are getting more convenient, secure and accessible. today, when consumers make on - line purchases, they expect the payments to be executed swiftly and smoothly, requiring no additional time or effort. the global pandemic increased the interest of different businesses to the payment sector. we witness a quick acceleration of digitalization in most of the spheres of life, such as work, shopping and administrative services. this has also generated a demand for alternative methods of payment. according to the latest public data, three out of four users worldwide have changed their method of payment owing to the covid - 19 crisis. half of the consumers would opt to shop online, where possible. during the pandemic large part of consumers have tried for the first time a new shopping or payment method. currently, we observe an enhanced activity of the innovative payment market players. these are fintech companies that have proven themselves in other sectors but also the so - called “ challenger banks ”. using digital technologies, they try to redefine the provision of financial services to improve customer experience and to find their place on this highly competitive market. these new players position themselves mostly in market niches with a potential for further development. such niches are, for example, the digital wallets, person - to - person ( p2p ) and business - to - business ( b2b ) payments, as well as value added services offered on the basis of existing traditional payment services. with the second payment services directive ( psd 2 ), two new types of electronic payment services were regulated in the european union – payment initiation services and account information services. these new services are already offered in bulgaria and provide technological basis for the implementation of the so - called ‘ open banking ’. it enables fintech companies to enter the payment market more easily by introducing new business models, services and solutions. examples for such services are aggregation of payment account data from different payment service providers, carrying out financial analysis

market conditions. 2. the capital adequacy of each bank after potential adjustments from the asset quality review remains above the minimum regulatory requirements. indeed, the individual results vary across banks. follow - up plans have been developed in line with individual results and include measures aimed at maintaining existing capital buffers for some banks or increasing capital buffers and decreasing risk - weighted assets for others. the concrete follow - up measures and timeline for their implementation will be announced on saturday, 1 pm, as part of the published results. implementation of the measures will begin on monday, 15 august 2016. they will be incorporated in the individual bank ’ s capital management plans, as well as in the supervisory process conducted by the bnb. 3. the results do not necessitate any public support to the banks with state budget funds. the follow - up measures aimed at maintaining or strengthening the capital position of all banks are based entirely on available market solutions and funds from private sources. bis central bankers ’ speeches in closing, i would like to stress out that the asset quality review and the stress test were not an isolated event but an important step in the 18 - month reform plan for the institutional development of the bulgarian national bank, which i announced upon my election as a governor in july 2015. other key aspects of this plan include significant improvement of the bnb ’ s supervisory process and the development of an institutional framework that is effective in resolving issues in the banking system. the strict execution of the plan to date has strengthened our disciplined approach and contributed to improving financial results in the banking sector. the markedly high half - year results of the banks are a solid platform for implementing the follow - up measures identified as a result of the asset quality review and the stress test. i would like to assure the public, that we will be consistent in our disciplined approach and we will continue to follow our plan for reforms in the banking sector focusing not on the issues of the past but on addressing effectively the challenges of the future in order to maintain financial stability and integrate successfully in the european financial infrastructure. bis central bankers ’ speeches