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The announced percentages were forecasts at the time, not current economic data. Statements about banking stability and the names of office-holders are reproduced as historical reporting; they do not represent a present-day assessment of a bank or the financial system.
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecast for Bulgarian economic growth to 3% of the country's GDP, from its previous expectation of 2.3%.
The figure was announced by the head of the Fund's mission in Bulgaria, Reza Bakir, at a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
During the meeting, attended by Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev, participants discussed the IMF experts’ findings on the development of the Bulgarian economy and the main macroeconomic forecasts and policies to ensure the country’s growth.
The head of the IMF mission, Reza Bakir, expressed appreciation on behalf of the Fund’s experts who conducted an assessment of banking assets in Bulgaria. The results of this unprecedented review show that the Bulgarian financial system is stable and secure, and that the institutions involved in regulating and supervising banks operate according to the highest international professional standards.
For his part, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that, following the banking crisis in 2014, the current government had not only provided a way to overcome the consequences of the failure of Bulgaria's fourth-largest bank, but had also taken all the legislative and organisational measures necessary to stabilise the system and prevent similar crises in the future.
The basic institutional framework has brought significant improvements in combating the shadow economy and smuggling. According to the prime minister, regular working meetings held under his leadership between the finance and interior ministers, representatives of the security services, revenue agencies and prosecutors are the main instrument behind the substantial increase in budget revenues.
Reza Bakir outlined the principal risks to the development of the Bulgarian economy identified by IMF experts. First were worsening demographics and major economic and social imbalances between the country's regions. Measures to improve the management of state-owned enterprises and to stimulate private consumption as the main driver of economic growth were discussed at the meeting.