On November 7, Mr. Boyko Atanasov – Chair of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC), officially opened the annual meeting of the financial and investment community in the region – Investor Finance Forum 2023 (IFF). It is organized for the 12th year in a row by the economic site “Investor.bg” (Investor.bg).

The conference traditionally brings together leaders, experts and professionals from the fields of banking, finance, FinTech, capital markets, stock exchanges and regulatory authorities. The IFF platform provides an opportunity of exchanging ideas, establishing valuable business contacts and participating in discussions regarding current challenges facing the banking and non-banking financial sector.

“It is my pleasure to participate in the opening of the largest event of the financial and investment community in the region, which is being held for the 12th time in a row.

The past 3 years have been marked by turbulence and cataclysms in almost all spheres of society. All of us – participants in the banking and non-banking financial sectors – FinTech, capital markets, stock exchanges and including regulators had serious topics for consideration in the direction of what is the current situation we are in, what are the challenges we are facing and which of the status quo models used are no longer fully effective. On the other hand, we had and continue to have the task of defining what is our desired situation, what is our vision and horizon for the development of the Bulgarian financial and economic environment. The task before us is to discover the necessary changes not every 2, 3 or 5 years, but every day. Because the more dynamic world we live in, the more technology we handle, the more we have the responsibility to be flexible and adaptable on a daily basis, to make transformations and track their development and impact.

Today, tomorrow, and in the future, decisions are and will be made based on high awareness of every single change in the development of the capital markets, as well as on the basis of the interaction of factors such as economic circumstances, geopolitical events and technological progress.

As I’m sure everyone in this audience knows – technology is a driving force in the design of the financial industry. Yes, it’s changing the capital markets, and artificial intelligence and developments in the IT environment have an increasing role in trading algorithms and risk management.

Technological achievements today are transforming the way capital markets function, offering both opportunities and challenges. Market participants will need to adapt to remain competitive.

I will point out the main task in front of us: technology will continue to develop at an extremely rapid pace, which is why the financial industry has a responsibility to balance innovation, security for consumers and the robust supervision necessary to maintain the integrity of the market. Here is the most important role of the Financial Supervision Commission – to ensure stability and security and support the development of business and services to consumers,” shared Mr. Atanasov with the conference participants.

The panelists took a macroeconomic view of the situation in Bulgaria and the world, discussed the risks of the recession and the measures to slow down inflation, as well as anticipated the likely next moves of the central banks.

The event continued with the criteria for reporting of the Bulgarian instruments for ESG practices in 2024, the financial business framework, the social aspect of sustainable investments and the transition to a zero carbon footprint. In the panel “Investment companies and ranking of investment funds in our country”, leading investors shared their personal experience, and the “FinTech” part drew attention to artificial intelligence, cyber security and open banking. The finale of the emblematic forum was dedicated to active investments.

All the topics presented were a testament to the importance of partnership, innovation and knowledge sharing in shaping the future financial ecosystem, where the Financial Supervision Commission, in its capacity as regulator of the non-banking financial sector, continues to play a multi-faceted role in creating a conducive business environment in Bulgaria.