European Central Bank confirms Bulgaria’s euro adoption and Bulgarian National Bank’s entry to the Eurosystem and Single Supervisory Mechanism

The European Central Bank announced that euro banknotes and coins have entered into circulation in Bulgaria, making it the 21st euro area member state. Bulgaria’s accession brings the Bulgarian National Bank into the Eurosystem, gives its Governor a seat on the ECB’s Governing Council, and triggers the start of the ECB’s rotating voting rights system in the Governing Council. The official conversion rate was set at BGN 1.95583 per EUR 1. The Bulgarian National Bank also becomes a full member of the Single Supervisory Mechanism after participation in the close cooperation framework since October 2020, with the ECB directly supervising four significant institutions in Bulgaria and overseeing 17 less significant institutions, alongside its responsibilities for bank licensing and assessing acquisitions of qualifying holdings. Bulgaria has also joined the Eurosystem’s TARGET services, with T2, T2S, TIPS and the Eurosystem Collateral Management System now active for the Bulgarian market. The Bulgarian National Bank has paid the remaining part of its capital contribution to the ECB and transferred its contribution to the ECB’s foreign reserve assets, and Bulgarian counterparties can participate in ECB open market operations announced after 1 January 2026. The ECB will publish shortly lists of Bulgarian credit institutions and relevant branches subject to minimum reserve requirements, and assets located in Bulgaria that meet the necessary requirements will be added to the euro area list of eligible collateral.