Financial Crisis To Avoid Bulgaria

Bulgaria has all the necessary resources to deal with the global financial crisis, according to Rumen Simeonov, a spokesman for the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).Simeonov said that the budget surplus must be preserved and used when there is a need for funds due to the worldwide financial crisis."I personally don't consider the budget surplus to be superfluous money. I see it as a "rainy day" fund. So, we do have the resources," Simeonov said.He further explained that the bank market in Bulgaria was not as innovative as the one in the US and that Bulgaria did not have investment banks with business and personal loans remaining the main bank assets in the country.Simeonov also stated that BNB was going to request a change in the rules for registering a leasing or financial company. Currently those businesses only need to notify BNB that they exist. He also predicted a further increase of the loans' interest rates as declared by the banks themselves - between 0.5% and 1% by the end of the current year.