At a Glance - Bulgaria and the IMF

Last Updated: August 2001
  • Bulgaria joined the IMF on September 25, 1990.
  • For Bulgaria's Governor, quota, and voting power in the IMF, see www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/members.htm
  • For Bulgaria's Executive Director in the IMF and constituency, see www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/eds.htm
  • Bulgaria accepted the obligations of Article VIII of the IMF Articles of Agreement on current account convertibility on September 24, 1998.
  • For Bulgaria's Financial Position in the Fund, see http://www.imf.org/external/np/tre/tad/exfin2.cfm?memberKey1=93
  • Bulgaria's currency, the lev, is pegged to the euro under a currency board arrangement.
  • The "Experimental IMF Report on Observance of Standards and Codes: Bulgaria" was published in August 1999 and reissued in binder form in March 2000. This report compares country practices in Bulgaria with internationally recognized standards and codes in the areas of data dissemination, fiscal transparency, monetary and financial policy transparency, and banking supervision, and in some instances, one or all of the following: securities markets, insurance regulations, and accounting and auditing standards. In reviewing countries' observance of standards, the report covers disclosure practices and also discusses issues related to the quality of the information released. An update to the report was published in March 2001.

Financial Assistance

Since 1991, Bulgaria has used IMF resources on several occasions (Financial Position in the Fund: V. Latest Financial Arrangements). In 1991, the IMF approved a drawing by Bulgaria equivalent to SDR 60.6 million (about US$87 million), under the Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility (CCFF) to help meet an anticipated increase in the cost of oil imports; in 1991 and 1992 the IMF approved a Stand-by credit in support of structural reforms; in 1994, the IMF approved a Stand-by Arrangement and an augmentation of credit in support of the economic and financial program for 1994; a part of this credit was drawn under the Systemic Transformation Facility (STF)1. In 1996 and in 1997, the IMF approved two Stand-by arrangements in support of Bulgaria's economic and financial programs aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and restarting structural reforms. In addition to the Stand-by credits, SDR107.6 million (about US$147 million) was purchased under the cereal element of the Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility because of increased import costs prompted by a significant decline in cereal yields and production during 1996/97. In 1998, the IMF approved drawings equivalent to SDR 627.6 million, under the Extended Fund Facility to support Bulgaria's three-year program of macroeconomic and structural adjustment.

Technical Assistance

The IMF has provided Bulgaria with technical assistance in a number of areas, including central bank restructuring, fiscal expenditure management, tax and customs administration, bank supervision, monetary policy and central bank organization, and in statistics.

The IMF Institute has provided training to Bulgarian officials in financial programming and policy, public finance, government finance statistics, balance of payments methodology and other areas; officials have also attended courses and seminars at the Joint Institute in Vienna, Austria.

1The STF a was temporary IMF financing facility that provided assistance to member countries facing balance of payments difficulties arising from severe disruptions in their trade and payments arrangements owing to a shift from reliance on trading at nonmarket prices to multilateral market-based trade.