Banks have invested 400 million leva in preparing their systems for a smooth transition to the euro, announced the chairwoman of the Association of Commercial Banks Petya Dimitrova and recalled some of the benefits of the transition to the single currency:
"The next step after the Schengen area - the eurozone - will contribute not only to expanding business. We believe that competitiveness, operational efficiency, access to capital, expanding markets - these are some of the common key things. This - tourists and the entire business not to overvalue, not to have a currency risk, to have price transparency, to be part of the big market are the big benefits".
Dimitrova sees a very good partnership between banks and the tourism industry, and according to BNB data at the end of last year - they had lent over 2.3 billion leva to the hotel and restaurant sectors. For his part, BNB Deputy Governor Petar Chobanov called on businesses not to raise prices:
"That is, we should not be complacent at the moment that we have met the inflation criteria - yes, of course, this was thanks to our efforts as a society. We need to make a little more effort in this regard and I hope that everyone who can make a contribution, including the tourism industry, will do so".
Deputy Minister of Finance Metodi Metodiev invited the tourism industry to join the explanatory campaign for the euro and recalled that one of the less frequently mentioned benefits is the better institutional environment:
"This entire process of entering the eurozone, the OECD, and before that - the currency mechanism, the banking union - is actually combined with the so-called commitments of the state, which should be fulfilled by carrying out a number of reforms".