Bulgarian National Bank mandates use of the ECB IMAS Portal for key authorisation processes and revises qualifying holding supervisory fees

The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) adopted amendments to its licensing and approvals ordinance under the Law on Credit Institutions, introducing a mandatory process for using the Single Supervisory Mechanism’s Information Management System Portal (IMAS Portal) when submitting applications and exchanging information in selected procedures within the European Central Bank’s remit. The IMAS Portal requirement applies to submissions and information exchange between competent authorities and supervised entities or third parties for European Central Bank procedures covering bank licence applications and changes in the scope of a banking licence, prior approvals for acquisitions and increases of qualifying holdings in banks licensed in Bulgaria, and assessments of applications for approval of a financial holding company or a mixed financial holding company. The amendments also change the rule on the supervisory fee due for acquiring or increasing a qualifying holding in a credit institution by differentiating the fee based on whether the applicant acquires a direct or indirect holding.