Today, 12 June 2009, the Amendments to the Law on Bank Deposit Guaranty (LBDG) has been published in Darjaven vestnik, issue 44, which transpose the provisions of the adopted on 11 March 2009 Directive 2009/14/EC amending Directive 94/19/EC on deposit-guarantee schemes as regards the coverage level and payout delay into Bulgarian legislation.
Major amendments under Directive 2009/14/EC relate to the shortened deadlines for determination for licence revocation due to insolvency and for repayment of guaranteed deposit amounts, co-operation between deposit guarantee schemes, regular stress testing of deposit guarantee schemes, as well as enhancing public awareness.
Under the amendments to LBDG the Bulgarian Deposit Insurance Fund (BDIF) shall repay guaranteed deposit amounts within twenty working days as of licence revocation in lieu of the present forty-five days. The twenty-working-day deadline may be extended by ten working days under exceptional circumstances. The deadline for data transfer on guaranteed deposits by the conservator, liquidator or trustee in charge to the BDIF Management Board has been shortened from fifteen to three working days. The deadline for announcement in at least two major dailies of the initial day of repayment and the servicing bank has been shortened from fifteen to seven days at most before deposit repayment. These deadlines enter into force as of 1 September 2009.
In view of more efficient functioning of the EU member states schemes the amendments to LBDG introduce new obligations for BDIF: to co-operate with the bodies of the respective deposit guarantee scheme, as well as to perform regular stress testing of the system. These requirements are enforceable as of the date of publication in Darjaven vestnik.
The Final Provisions of the amendments to LBDG introduce provisions in the Law on Credit Institutions on enhancement of banking services consumers’ protection regarding the scope of information provided to customers by banks, in the general conditions of the offered deposits and in the individual contracts alike, concerning the applicable deposit guarantee scheme, the level of coverage, the competent repayment authority, as well as the deposits not eligible for guarantee. These amendments enter into force upon publication in Darjaven vestnik.