Non-banking financial institutions in Bulgaria

Miller, Jeffrey and Petranov, Stefan (2000): Non-banking financial institutions in Bulgaria. Published in: MOCT-MOST, Kluwer Academic Publishers No. 3-4 (2000): pp. 363-380.

Abstract

As has been the case in most developing and transition economies, banks in Bulgaria have been the dominant financial institution. Development'of other financial institutions, especially private sector institutions, has been very slow during most of the 1990s. The failure to properly regulate the banking system was an important contributor to the Bulgarian financial crisis of 1996-1997. Since 1997 new laws and changing circumstances have created an environment where a stock exchange with extensive listing has been established, private insurance is more widespread, and private pension systems have begun to emerge.

In the article an overview of the developments in the non-banking financial sector during the 1990s is presented. Capital markets have had a rocky start with low volume and poor liquidity. The insurance industry subsequently analysed, has experienced the most growth among non-bank financial sectors but is still relatively small. New pensions systems are beginning to expand and show more rapid growth in the future. In the concluding section other non-bank financial activities and future prospects for the sector in Bulgaria are discussed as well.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: non-banking financial institutions, capital markets, insurance sector, pension system, Bulgaria
• Subjects: G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G22 - Insurance ; Insurance Companies ; Actuarial Studies; G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G23 - Non-bank Financial Institutions ; Financial Instruments ; Institutional Investors; G - Financial Economics > G2 - Financial Institutions and Services > G28 - Government Policy and Regulation

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