Financial Supervision Commission

The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) was established on 1 March 2003, via the Financial Supervision Commission Act, as a distinct body independent of the executive branch, and reports directly to the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The responsibility of the FSC is to regulate and supervise the non-banking financial system, which includes the capital market, insurance, health insurance, and pension insurance markets.

Mission

The mission of the Commission is to promote stability and transparency in these markets and to ensure that the rights and interests of users of financial services and products are protected.

The Commission's mission is to promote stability and transparency in these markets and to protect the rights and interests of consumers of financial services and products.

Regulatory activity

The Commission has the primary responsibility to develop and adopt regulations and secondary legislation necessary to effect diversified financial supervision.

The Commission, in regulating, is guided by European legislation, norms, and practices; the Commission is also required to make amendments to legislation when the financial system changes, when new products and technologies are developed, or when gaps exist in the existing legislative framework of the systems.

Licensing regime

The Commission, as part of its supervisory responsibility, is to have a licensing regime that treats all applicants equitably and under the same standard.

This includes reviewing the capital adequacy and capital structure documents, which outline the contributory resources, prohibitions on connections between persons or institutions, and the requisite standards for management and supervisory bodies.

Supervision

The supervisory function occurs both off-site and on-site, serving to determine compliance, financial soundness, and the accuracy of the information marketed.