Historical profile of Association of Banks in Bulgaria
The Association of Banks was established on 9 April 1992 at the city of Plovdiv. It is one of the first branch non-profit organizations in Republic of Bulgaria, seated in Sofia, 12 Batenberg Str. Founders are forty seven commercial banks. The Statute was approved and Executive and Control Boards were elected at the founding meeting.
A National Commission on Banking Technique and Practice including bank experts in the field of international payments was set up in October 1994. It acts as a mediator between Bulgarian commercial banks and the Commission on Banking Technique and Practice at ICC in Paris.
An organisational structure of the Association of Commercial Banks was adopted in December 1994, according to which committees and work groups were created, acting on permanent and temporary programs: "Legal Committee", "Economic Policy", "Information Technologies", "Capital Markets" and "Bank Security". The Legal Committee started its functioning.
A Court of Arbitration was created in May 1995 at the Association of Commercial Banks as an independent legislative institution, empowered to solve civil and commercial disputes in which at least one of the parties was a bank. The list of arbitrators included leading jurists in the field of bank and commercial law.
The Association of Commercial Banks became a corresponding member of the Banking Federation of the European Union at Brussels, Belgium on 2 June, 1995.
In March 1997 an amendment of the Statute of the Association of Commercial Banks was adopted allowing subsidiaries and branches of foreign banks, registered in Republic of Bulgaria to be accordingly full and associated members.
In March 1998 the Association of Commercial Banks acquired 50% of the International Banking Institute owners’ capital and, through this act, the opportunity to participate directly in the preparation of short and long-term training programmes.
A Capital Markets Committee, including representatives of commercial banks - members of the ACB, started functioning in June 1998, approved its Statute and elected its governing body.
In October 1998 the Board of the Banking Federation transformed the existing “Correspondent” status of the ÅU neighbouring banking associations, the Association of Commercial Banks in Bulgaria including, into a new “Associate” status in order to enhance the FBE cooperation with these countries in view of further integration of their economies into Europe.
An Economic Policy Committee, including representatives of commercial banks - members of the ACB, started functioning in June 1999, approved its Statute and elected its governing body.
An Information Technologies Committee at the ABB Executive Board started its activity in May 2000, including representatives of commercial banks - members of the Association. The Committee adopted its Statute and elected its governing body.
At the 10th Meeting of the Associates of the European Banking Federation held in May 2000 the Association of Commercial banks became a member of the EBF Pre-accession committee. This act represented a next step in the integration of the Bulgarian Banking Association in the European structures.
A Security Committee at the ABB Executive Board started its functioning in June 2002, including representatives of commercial banks - members of the Association. The Committee adopted its Statute and elected its governing body.
In February 2003 BNB started publishing the reference rates SOFIBOR and SOFIBID - interbank interest levels - established on the basis of a triple contract between the Bulgarian National Bank, the Association of Banks and the Bulgarian Dealers’ Association. The seat of the Steering Committee is at the ACB.
In April 2004, due to the necessity of up-dating and supplementing, the Ethical Code of the Association of Commercial Banks was approved by the General Assembly of the ACB, replacing the Code of Good Banking Practice, adopted in 1995.
In December 2005, according to a contract signed among BNB, ACB and the Bulgarian Dealer’ Association began the calculation and the official publication of a third reference rate - LEONIA. The name of the reference rate combines the initial letters of Lev Over Night Index Average. At the decision of the Governing Council of the BNB, since February 1st 2005 LEONIA is to be used as a basis for computing the base interest rate./
The Association of Commercial Banks changed its name to Association of Banks in Bulgaria by a resolution of the General Assembly of 3 April 2007.
The General Assembly of 3 April 2007 decided to establish Payment Systems Committee as an assistant structure functioning on permanent basis at the Executive Board of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria. The Committee consists of representatives of banks – members of the ABB.
At the end of April 2007 by a decision of the Executive Board of the European Banking Federation (EBF) in Brussels ABB was affiliated as a full member of the Federation considered as of May 2007. The Chairman of the Executive Board of ABB is going to represent the Association in the Executive Board of the EBF, which is its supreme governance body, and according to the EBF status – the Secretary General of ABB is going to represent the Association in the working management body of the Federation – the EBF Executive Committee.
In June 2007 ABB was accepted as a member of the European Payment Council (EPC) in Brussels. The Executive Board of ABB nominated an ABB representative in the EPC Plenary who also represents generally the Bulgarian banking community.
At October 2007 ad hoc working groups having expert and consultative functions exist at the Executive Board of the ABB as follows: Working group on banking cards payments, Working group on the development of cash circulation, Working group on the activity of custodian banks according to the Social Security Code, Working group on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, Working Group on Consumer Affairs and S.W.I.F.T. Users Group.