is a strong pre - condition for full integration into the european structures and for making maximum use of the potential of our country's participation in the single european market, including by eliminating the need to convert levs to euro and eliminating transaction costs. the data and experience of the countries that joined the euro area earlier show that the introduction of the euro accelerates sustainable development and the convergence with the average european incomes. in conclusion, i would like to once again welcome the guests at this high forum and the speakers participating in it, and i wish interesting and productive discussions to all participants in today's conference. 2 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches

dimitar radev : review of bulgaria's economy and banking system banker's day'speech by mr dimitar radev, governor of the bulgarian national bank, to the association of banks in bulgaria, sofia, 5 december 2017. * * * dear colleagues, dear members of parliament, dear guests, first of all, i would like to thank you for the invitation – on my behalf and on behalf of my colleagues in the bnb governing council. we are delighted to be with you this evening. the passing year 2017 was good both for the economy and for the banking system in bulgaria. perhaps, this has been the first year for a long time, in which there is more optimism than pessimism. the economy is developing at better rates than we anticipated early this year. the fiscal position is solid. the banking sector is in a very good state. capital adequacy and liquidity ratios are above the average levels for the european union. for a second consecutive year this sector ’ s profits nearly reach the highest historical levels. lending continues to increase. we see a long - term downward trend in non - performing loans. we also have positive results from the accomplishment of the bnb ’ s main priorities. generally, the measures adopted after the asset quality review and the stress test last year are being implemented successfully. the efficiency of banking supervision is improving and all independent observers of the developments in our banking sector point up this progress. now we have in place a framework for the recovery and resolution of banks, something that we did not have two years ago. serious steps forward have been made on all technical issues that are of key importance for the integration into the european financial infrastructure. i wish to point out something in the bnb ’ s work, something that may be difficult to see – it is the huge amount of experts ’ work and the intensive technical consultations that we are having about our joining the exchange rate mechanism ii and the euro area. i ’ ve already had a suitable occasion to thank my colleagues in the central bank. now it is a pleasure to thank you, too, for the very good results achieved in this sector. all the items on our agenda are not yet completed and we still have a lot to do. i will not go into details or numbers, but let me mention some of our today ’ s priorities. i will begin with the amendments to the law on credit institutions which take effect from today. they create an appropriate legal framework for further consolidation