BNB chief says trust drove Bulgaria’s euro adoption success

Discipline, preparation and trust underpinned Bulgaria’s successful adoption of the euro, Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governor Dimitar Radev said at an event during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.

“For Bulgaria, adopting the euro was not a last-minute decision but the natural end of a long process spanning decades, not years,” Radev said.

“The key lesson from our experience is this: you do not adopt the euro to gain trust. You adopt it when trust is already in place. Put differently, the euro does not create trust – it reinforces it,” he added.

Bulgaria’s currency board, in place for nearly 30 years, has helped instil discipline in both monetary and fiscal policy, contributing to one of the lowest public debt-to-GDP ratios in Europe, the central bank said.

Editor: Ivo Ivanov