The presented final data on the value and number of paid and filed claims under Motor Third Party Liability Insurance, including by risk groups, as of 31.12.2021 are published on the FSC website – section “Insurance Activity”, “Statistics”, “Non-life Insurance”, “2021”. The data do not include insurance contracts that are concluded by insurers under the right of establishment or under the terms of freedom to provide services.

The Deputy Chairperson of the Financial Supervision Commission, head of the Investment Supervision Department, was a special guest at the XXI award ceremony for investment firms and banks that achieved the highest results in 2021.

The award ceremony was officially opened by Mariya Filipova – Deputy Chairperson of the Financial Supervision Commission, Vasil Golemanski – Deputy Chairperson of the Board of BSE and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Manyu Moravenov – Executive Director of BSE.

In her greeting to the guests of the event, Ms. Filipova noted: “The past 2021 was full of challenges, but since every challenge is an opportunity for development, we have all witnessed the growing interest of investors in products and new opportunities offered on the Bulgarian capital market. The FSC, the BSE and the investment firms are involved in this process and are guided by one goal – to create a sustainable, stable and accessible market for investors.” In conclusion, she stressed that “the basis of balanced and beneficial interactions between the regulator and market participants is respect for the rights and obligations of all those involved in the process” and called for “the establishment of transparent and fair relations between all participants in the capital market.”

Ms. Mariya Filipova presented the award for investment firms with the most significant contribution in 2021 to Carol AD. Carol AD was also distinguished as the investment firm which achieved the highest turnover on the BSE in 2021 and the investment firm that concluded the most transactions on the BSE in 2021.

For the first time on the BSE presented an award for the most active bank-investment firm for 2021 the award went to Central Cooperative Bank AD. The public company Alterco AD, whose shares are traded on a regulated market, was awarded as the issuer with the most significant contribution to the development of the capital market last year. Yuliyan Sofroniev, founder and CEO of Biodit AD, the first company admitted to the market for growth of small and medium enterprises, was awarded as the person with the greatest contribution to the promotion of the capital market in 2021.

The ceremony was held under the motto “Fashion (evolution)” and her special guest was Sibina Grigorova – managing editor of the media “Boulevard Bulgaria” and co-host of the podcast “Life and Other Things”, which outlined the trends for 2022.

The data presented from the reports of insurers in non-life and life insurance at the end of October 2021 are summarized and published on the FSC website – www.fsc.bg, section “Insurance Activity”, “Statistics”.

For December 2021 the FSC received 73 (seventy three) notifications from the competent authorities of EU Member States regarding the intention of insurers and insurance intermediaries based in other EU Member States to carry out cross-border activity on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the terms of the freedom to provide services, including notifications for extension of the scope of the performed activity or provision of information for the change of addresses, representatives and other circumstances.

During this period, the FSC did not receive notifications from the national competent authorities of the EU Member States about the intention of insurance companies based in their territory to operate or cease operations in the Republic of Bulgaria under the conditions of freedom to provide services. . Therefore as of the end of 2021, the total number of insurance companies based in other Member States which intend to operate in Bulgaria under the principle of freedom to provide services, remains 418 (four hundred and eighteen).

For December 2021, the FSC received 21 (twenty-one) notifications from the competent supervisory authorities of EU Member States regarding the intention of insurance intermediaries based in EU Member States to carry out insurance intermediation activities in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the terms of freedom to provide services.

During the same period, 42 (forty-two) notifications were received regarding the termination of insurance intermediation activities on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the conditions of the freedom to provide services. As a result, at the end of 2021, the number of insurance intermediaries based in EU Member States that have stated their intention to carry out cross-border activities in the Republic of Bulgaria decreased to 2,168 (two thousand one hundred and sixty eight).

For December 2021 the FSC has not sent notifications to the national competent authorities of the EU Member States regarding the intention or withdrawal of the intention of the insurance companies based in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria to carry out cross-border insurance activity. Thus, at the end of 2021, the total number of local insurers which have stated their intention to carry out insurance activities on the territory of other Member States under the terms of freedom to provide services, remains 17 (seventeen).

During the period the FSC sent 1 (one) notification to the competent authorities of EU Member States regarding the intention of an insurance broker based in the Republic of Bulgaria to carry out cross-border insurance intermediation under the conditions of freedom to provide services in their territory, and 1 (one) notification of the intention of an insurance broker to extend its cross-border activity in the territory of the Member States under the conditions of freedom to provide services. Thus the total number of insurance intermediaries based in the Republic of Bulgaria which declared their intention to carry out insurance intermediation activities in the territory of EU Member States under the terms of freedom to provide services or the right of establishment, increased to 55 (fifty five) intermediaries.

The updated lists of notifications are available on the FSC website in the section “Supervised entities” – “Notifications”.

In connection with the application of Art. 73, Art. 75, Art. 76, para. 1, Art. 77, para. 1 and Art. 156, para. 1 of Ordinance No. 44 of 20.10.2011 on the requirements for the activity of collective investment schemes, management companies, national investment funds and alternative investment fund managers, in connection with Art. 64, para. 2 and Art. 92, para. 1 and 2 of the Collective Investment Schemes and Other Undertakings for Collective Investments Act, updated templates of reports to the financial statements of management companies and collective investment schemes have been approved, as well as a table for presenting summary information on the declared issue values and redemption prices of units of collective investment schemes, together with instructions to it.

The current templates of reports and table are published in the section “Administrative documents”, subsection “Forms and templates”, “Investment activity”.

Pursuant to Art. 86, para. 11 of Ordinance No. 53 of 23.12.2016 on the requirements for reporting, valuation of assets and liabilities and the formation of technical reserves of insurers, reinsurers and the Guarantee Fund, the Financial Supervision Commission published the maximum amount of technical interest for calculating premiums and reserves for the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022. Data on the maximum amount of technical interest can be found in the section “Insurance Activity”, “Statistics”, “Life Insurance”.

The package of reports, statements and appendices in connection with the submission to the Financial Supervision Commission of the periodic reports of the insurance brokers as of 31.12.2021, on the grounds of Art. 311, para. 3, item 2, in connection with para. 4 of the Insurance Code has been updated.

In connection with the above, the completion of the above reports and statements, and their submission through the electronic portal of the FSC, must begin after downloading the mandatory updated format (version 31.12.2021), published on the FSC website at:

www.fsc.bg, section “Administrative documents”, subsection “Forms and templates”, “Insurance market”.

IMPORTANT:

Attachments must meet the following conditions:

• The main file containing the reference package according to Appendices 2.1-2.8 and 3.1-3.4 with basic information must be in .xls format (Microsoft Excel 2003);
• The content of the main file with basic information must be filled in according to the templates approved by the Financial Supervision Commission, observing all rules for data validity (these rules are not part of this instruction and can be downloaded from the Financial Supervision Commission website) ;
• The name of the main file with basic information must be formatted according to the rules set by the Financial Supervision Commission;
• For Appendix No. 2.4, Appendix No. 2.8, Appendix No. 3.2 and Appendix No. 3.4 of the main file with basic information contained in the reference package, the Note section should indicate the country in which the insurer / reinsurer has its registered office and the territory on which the risk under the concluded insurance / reinsurance contract is located
• Appendix No. 1 shall be filled in according to the attached template contained in the reference package, the information must be in .xls format;
• The Insurance Code stipulates an obligation for insurance brokers to submit information on the ongoing professional training and development of the persons under Art. 303, para. 2 and 3 and Art. 304, para. 1 of the IC within the year. The reports shall be submitted to the Commission annually by January 31 of the following year. For this purpose, Appendix No. 3 in .xls format should be filled in, according to the attached template contained in the reference package;
• Files must be signed with a universal electronic signature in p7m or p7s format (PKCS # 7), and encryption should NOT be used when signing;
• The signature on the files must belong to the same employee who logged in the system.

The presented reports and statements of insurers and reinsurers in non-life insurance and life insurance, according to Ordinance No. 53 of 23.12.2016 and presented quarterly quantitative templates, according to Regulation (EU) 2015/2450 under Art. 304, paragraph 1, letter “d” of Regulation (EU) 2015/35 at the end of the third quarter of 2021 are summarized and published on the FSC website – www.fsc.bg, section “Insurance Activity“, “Statistics” – 2021.

As a continuation of the consistent policy pursued by the Financial Supervision Commission with regard to innovation through the new Financial Innovation Monitoring Strategy for the period 2021-2024, the FSC has started an active partnership with the Bulgarian Fintech Association (BFA) and representatives of business organizations with expressed interest in stimulating the development of financial innovations in the non-banking sector.

At a special meeting initiated by the Commission, the main lines of action were outlined and concrete steps were set out to support the development of innovative solutions in the non-banking financial sector in Bulgaria:

 Development of financial literacy of consumers of financial services and investors through the participation of experts from the Commission in master’s programs and training innovation camps with students.

 Participation of regulator representatives in local and international webinars of BFA.

 Regular meetings with fintech companies to provide feedback on the assessment of potential risks to both the market and consumers, as well as potential actions and measures to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of growing interest in innovative financial products and / or technologies, while in compliance with regulatory requirements.

 Promoting and encouraging the use of the already operational Innovation Hub, which provides quick and easy access to information for start-ups and on issues and cases of a regulatory and legal nature.

 Research and preparation for the introduction of a regulatory Sandbox for the non-banking financial sector which will allow FinTech companies to test their products in a real and secure environment, and the supervisor to monitor this process to optimally adapt regulations to digital finance.

 Joint discussion and adaptation of the new regulatory framework for crowdfunding, which is considered as an established form of alternative financing for start-ups and SMEs. This task will be related to the supervision of a digital platform designed to connect or facilitate the connection of potential investors or lenders with companies seeking financing.

In pursuance of the Financial Innovation Monitoring Strategy for the period 2021-2024, the Financial Supervision Commission, at the invitation of the Bulgarian National Bank, took part in an organized online event by the National Bank of Lithuania on “Regulatory sandbox”. The meeting focused on sharing good practices in building innovative financial products. In order to minimize the risks and build well-functioning services in a real business environment, through the much-needed reliable and secure support from the relevant national supervisory authority.

The FSC continues to build on what has been achieved so far in terms of creating an innovation-friendly business environment, with an emphasis on the need for collaboration between regulators and business to create a developed fintech ecosystem.

The event program for 2022 builds on the achievements of the Financial Supervision Commission so far in support of fintech solutions and their entry into everyday life.

The Financial Supervision Commission initiates proceedings for the issuance of a general administrative act – Decision for determining the amount of minimum percentages, according to Art. 91, para. 3, item 2 of Ordinance No. 53 of 23.12.2016 on the requirements for reporting, valuation of assets and liabilities and the formation of technical reserves of insurers, reinsurers and the Guarantee Fund (Ordinance No. 53), as well as the period for their application. The draft act can be found on the FSC website in the section “Public consultations” (available in BG version).