Anyone who shops with their phone, who pays with a card will be relieved of all this work with the conversion of leva into euros. These people cannot suffer from counterfeit euro banknotes, for example, or the exchange rate. From then on, a little increased attention is needed for those people who will struggle with the euro banknotes themselves. People will get used to it over time. Today, there was even talk that if someone has large reserves of coins, they should not wait until the last moment. In many places there are machines where a person can pour a basket of coins and receive a voucher with which to shop in the relevant store. If such a thing were done in advance, before the New Year, it would be good, because there are about 70-80 tons of coins in circulation in Bulgaria. This was explained on the air of BTV by banker Levon Hampartzumyan.
There are consumers who do not pay that much attention to prices, but there are others who split the penny in two. Now they will split the euro cent in two. People are different. At the time when the French francs were replaced by the euro, they counted in the old francs for a long time, there was some sentiment. It is very likely that there will be something similar in Bulgaria, but these are things that we will survive and overcome, he pointed out.
The state's measures regarding prices have more of a psychological impact on anxious people than an activity that will give a visible result. The reason is simple - no one anywhere has managed to do this. Excessive pressure on the market either leads to a deterioration in the quality of goods, or to a shortage of a given good, or even to the disappearance of goods. We experienced this during communism, when there were shops with empty stands and it was very popular to say "they let bananas go", "they let some people go what they want", explained Hampartzumyan.
We have experienced this and seen it and we even still have figures from that time who are now responsible for some price controls. They didn't succeed then and they won't be able to now, the financier pointed out. The Russians certainly don't like Bulgaria's higher degree of integration into the EU and NATO. That's it. Plus various people who are against the euro, simply because they like to be against whatever happens, the banker commented.
It's not the euro that affects bank interest rates, but the economy and the creditworthiness of the mortgage holder himself. The truth is that people with better salaries, with better businesses, also receive better financing. For the bank, it is important to be young, healthy and well-paid. It sounds cynical, but it is true. This affects the interest rate and the loan, not the euro, he pointed out.
The euro can influence better lending to the state through better conditions. It will create opportunities for businesses, for people who travel to be relieved and more stable and will increase the reputation of the state, the banker commented.
There is only one remedy for food prices not to increase - competition and quality control. Any other measures are artificial, we can see examples from Romania and Hungary. There is no reason for these measures to be more successful in Bulgaria. Since Covid, we have been living in a pro-inflationary environment. That is it, Hampartzumyan explained.