Ordinance No. 15 of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB on the Control over Transactions in Government Securities

1 Ordinance No 15 of the MF and the BNB
Ordinance No 15* of the MF and the BNB of 4 October 2007 on the Control over Transactions in Government Securities (Published in the Darjaven Vestnik, issue 85 of 23 October 2007; amended, issue 29 of 2017; amended, issue 13 of 2021; amended, issue 4 of 2026)
Chapter One
General Provisions
Article 1. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 29 of 2017) This Ordinance shall establish the terms and procedure for
regulation and control over:
1. the transactions and registration of primary market transactions in book-entry government securities, hereinafter
referred to as government securities;
2. the registration of secondary market transactions in government securities, including those concluded on regulated
market or multilateral trading facility.
Article 2. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 29 of 2017; amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) The regulation
and control over the transactions and the registration of primary market transactions in government securities and that over the registration of secondary market transactions in government securities shall cover the supervision of the compliance with the provisions of the Law on Government Debt, the ordinances under Article 36, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Law on Government Debt and the instructions issued by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the BNB.
Article 3. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 29 of 2017) The regulation and control over the transactions and the
registration of primary market transactions in government securities and the registration of secondary market transactions in government securities shall ensure a fair, effective and transparent market of government securities, protect investors’ interests and reduce to a minimum the risks in the systems for registration of government securities in compliance with the principles adopted by the Committee on Payment and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), as well as the Standards of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) for Securities Clearing and Settlement Systems.
Chapter Two
Selection of Government Securities Primary Dealers
Article 4. (1) Government securities primary dealers shall be:
1. banks whose license includes the services and activities under Article 2, paragraph 2, items 8 and 9 of the Law on
Credit Institutions, including such of other Member States;
2. investment intermediaries which have been granted a license to conduct investment services and activities pursuant
to the Law on Markets in Financial Instruments, including such of other Member States.
(2) Persons under paragraph 1 who apply to become government securities primary dealers shall be participants in the electronic system for registering and servicing government securities trading (ESROT) and to have own cash account opened with the BNB. (3) Banks which are not subdepositories of government securities as well as investment intermediaries shall have an effective contract with a government securities subdepository bank, and shall hold their own current account opened with the BNB. (4) Persons under paragraph 1 applying to become government securities primary dealers shall have qualified person￾nel with sufficient knowledge and professional experience to work in the government securities market. The qualification of each employee is initially ascertained by means of a written test developed by the Ministry of Finance. After successfully passing the test, the employees are authorized to conclude transactions in government securities.
Article 5. Government securities primary dealers shall be selected by a commission designated by the Minister of Fi￾nance. The commission shall hold sessions at least once annually and select government securities primary dealers for a
period of one year.
Article 6. (1) Primary dealers shall be selected on the basis of criteria for selection of government securities primary
dealers approved by the Minister of Finance.
(2) The commission shall draw up a list of the applicants for primary dealers who meet the criteria for selection of gov￾ernment securities primary dealers. The Minister of Finance shall approve the list of primary dealers. The list of primary dealers is published on the Ministry of Finance website. (3) The criteria for selection of government securities primary dealers contain the main requirements to the participants in the primary market of government securities, which the latter shall fulfill in case they wish to perform activities as primary dealers.

• Unofficial translation provided for information purposes only. The Bulgarian National Bank bears no responsibility whatsoever as to the accuracy of
  the translation and is not bound by its contents.

2 Ordinance No 15 of the MF and the BNB
Article 7. (1) The applicant for a primary dealer shall file an application to the Ministry of Finance declaring that he
meets the criteria for selection of government securities primary dealers and will fulfill them upon selection for the respec￾tive period of time. (2) The application under paragraph 1 shall be signed by the persons representing the applicant for a government se￾curities primary dealer. (3) The following documents shall be enclosed to the application under paragraph 1:
1. a copy of the license for an investment intermediary or a bank;
2. a copy of the agreement concluded with a subdepository bank in case the applicant for a government securities pri￾mary dealer is not a subdepository of government securities;
3. a unified tariff on fees and commissions related to the government securities transactions and services provided;
4. a financial standing certificate;
5. internal rules for government securities transactions and a declaration for availability of an effective and sound inter￾nal control system;
6. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 29 of 2017) a list of the primary dealer’s employees, according to the require￾ments of Article 4, paragraph 4, who are authorized to carry out transactions in the government securities market.
(4) The documents under this Ordinance issued in a foreign language shall be accompanied by a verified Bulgarian language translation. (5) The primary dealers shall notify the Ministry of Finance within a one-week period of any change in the documents under paragraph 3, occurred in the period for which they have been selected.
Article 8. (1) The investment intermediaries and banks approved to be government securities primary dealers shall
conclude an agreement with the Ministry of Finance for primary dealership in government securities.
(2) The primary dealership agreement shall specify the primary dealer’s underlying rights and obligations, the terms and conditions under which the agreement could be terminated in advance, as well as other circumstances relevant to the relations between the primary dealers and the issuer of government securities. (3) Where the criteria for selection of government securities primary dealers have been changed or the rights, obliga￾tions or some other terms stipulated in the primary dealership agreement have been modified, the parties shall sign an
annex to the agreement.
(4) The primary dealership agreement shall be automatically terminated in case the primary dealer has not been se￾lected for the subsequent one-year period. (5) The Minister of Finance may exclude a primary dealer from the list of primary dealers upon:
1. failure of the primary dealer to observe the criteria and requirements under which he has been selected as a primary
dealer;
2. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) failure of the primary dealer to observe the provisions of this Ordinance
or the Ordinance under Article 36, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Government Debt;
3. infringement of one or more obligations under the primary dealership agreement.
Article 8а. (new; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 13 of 2021) (1) The Minister of Finance and the primary dealers in government
securities may jointly set up a Committee of Primary Dealers of Government Securities, which shall have advisory func￾tions and shall be used for exchange of information and for making recommendations between the issuer and the primary dealers of government securities. (2) A representative of the BNB Fiscal Services Directorate shall participate as an observer in the work of the Committee under paragraph 1.
Chapter Three
Organization and Scope of the Control
Article 9. Control over the systems for registration of government securities transactions in the BNB and subdeposito￾ries of government securities shall be exercised by the Ministry of Finance and the Bulgarian National Bank.
Article 10. (1) (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) The Bulgarian National Bank and the Ministry of Finance
shall jointly exercise control over the systems for registration of government securities transactions maintained by subde￾positories of government securities pursuant to Article 24 of the Ordinance under Article 36, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Government Debt with regard to:
1. availability of an automated register of individual government securities accounts recording the government securities
acquired by their customers and by the customers of those ESROT participants, who are not subdepositories of govern￾ment securities, with which they have concluded a contract;
2. other requirements determined by the Ministry of Finance and the BNB.
(2) For the purposes of control the BNB shall carry out:
1. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) reconciliation of the data in the ESROT system and the statements
received electronically by the participants in the system concerning the total amount of government securities acquired by them and by their customers at nominal value, as well as government securities mobilised as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations (Appendix 1);
2. reconciliation of the data from the statements received under Appendix 1 concerning the total amount of government
securities owned by the customers of those participants in ESROT, who are not subdepositories of government securities, and the data from the statements received electronically by subdepositories (Appendix2).

3 Ordinance No 15 of the MF and the BNB
(3) The reconciliations under paragraph 2 shall be effected daily, weekly and monthly according to the instructions of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB.
Article 11. (1) (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) The Bulgarian National Bank shall organize and exercise
daily control over the registration and accounting of government securities transactions in the primary and secondary markets in compliance with the effective legislation through operating procedures and mechanisms employed, and shall carry out daily reconciliation of the data on government securities kept in the ESROT system and data in the Government Securities Settlement System (GSSS) and the TARGET2-Securities platform. (2) In compliance with the established international standards, recommendations and information disclosure pro￾grammes on depository systems activities, developed and adopted by the specialized international organizations, the BNB shall report periodically the functional parameters of the systems ESROT and GSSS by means of completing the respec￾tive questionnaires, on which the assessments compiled by rating agencies are based. The reports are published on the BNB website.
Chapter Four
Control and Powers of the Controlling Bodies
Article 12. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) Control over registration of government securities transac￾tions shall be based on reports, statements, information and other documents submitted by ESROT participants monthly,
quarterly or at the request of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB according to the requirements of this Ordinance and the ordinances under Article 36, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Law on the Government Debt.
Article 12а (new; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 13 of 2021) The Ministry of Finance may establish and maintain an informa￾tion system with regard to the implementation of Articles 6 and 12.
Article 13. (1) On-site inspection of subdepositories of government securities shall be carried out jointly by officials of
the Ministry of Finance and the BNB based on an order issued by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the BNB or other persons authorised by them. (2) Controlling persons shall have the right to:
1. a free access to the premises and documentation of examined persons concerning transactions in government se￾curities;
2. require additional statements, information and other documents related to the inspection.
Article 14. Controlling persons shall keep bank and professional secrecy with regard to the information revealed in the
course of the inspection.
Article 15. Managers and employees of examined persons shall provide assistance to the representatives of the Min￾istry of Finance and the BNB during the inspection.
Article 16. Persons carrying out the inspection shall:
1. analyze the examined activity;
2. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) draw conclusions on the compliance of the documents presented un￾der Article 12 with the requirements of this Ordinance and the ordinances under Article 36, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Law
on the Government Debt;
3. draw up a findings statement of the inspection in triplicate; one of the copies shall be submitted to the examined
persons.
Article 17. Upon ascertaining infringements, the controlling persons shall notify the Minister of Finance and the Gov￾ernor of the BNB, who, within their competences, may, personally or through persons authorized by them, undertake the
following enforcement measures:
1. a written warning;
2. (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) an exclusion from the lists of participants in the System for conducting
government securities auctions (GSAS) and ESROT pursuant to the Ordinance under Article 36, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Government Debt;
3. an exclusion from the list of primary dealers of government securities.
Additional Provision
(new; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026)
§ 1. (new; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) Within the meaning of this Ordinance, ‘mobilised government securities’ shall be government securities that have been transferred, without a change in ownership, from the ‘Government securi￾ties owned by the participant’ account to an account for government securities mobilised as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. Transitional and Final Provisions § 1а. (previous § 1; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) This Ordinance is issued pursuant to Article 36, paragraph 2 of the Law on the Government Debt and shall enter into force as of 1 November 2007. § 2. This Ordinance repeals Ordinance No. 15 of 2002 on the control over transactions in book-entry government securi￾ties (published in the Darjaven Vestnik, issue 119 of 2002; amended, issue 38 of 2006) § 3. Persons approved by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank as primary dealers for the period between 1 July 2007 and 31 October 2007 shall continue to be primary dealers until 31 March 2008, perform-

4 Ordinance No 15 of the MF and the BNB ing their activity pursuant to Ordinance No. 5 of 2007 on the Terms and Procedure for Acquisition, Registration, Redemption and Trade in Government Securities. § 4. Banks which are not subdepositories of government securities, as well as the investment intermediaries under § 3 shall conclude a contract with a government securities subdepository bank not later than 30 November 2007. § 5. The Bulgarian National Bank and the Ministry of Finance shall jointly and individually issue instructions on the en￾actment of this Ordinance. ORDINANCE on Amendment to Ordinance No 15 of 2007 on the Control over Transactions in Government Securities (Published in the Darjaven Vestnik, issue 13 of 16 February 2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Final Provision § 3. This Ordinance shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Darjaven Vestnik. ORDINANCE on Amendment to Ordinance No 15 of 4 October 2007 on the Control over Transactions in Government Securities (published in the Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 13 January 2026) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Final Provision § 10. This Ordinance is issued pursuant to Article 36, paragraph 2 of the Law on the Government Debt.

5 Ordinance No 15 of the MF and the BNB Appendix 1 to Article 10, paragraph 2, item 1 (amended; Darjaven Vestnik, issue 4 of 2026) Information on government securities owned by (participant) and its customers at nominal value as of (date) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ISIN code of the issue Type of currency Government securities in own portfolio Government securities held by customers Total (4+11) Actual holdings of government securities Blocked due to budget constraints, under the Law on Special Pledges, and for other reasons Mobilised government securities Total (1+2+3) Banks Other investment intermediaries (within the meaning of the Law on Public Offering of Securities) Pension funds and insurance companies Bulgarian Deposit Insurance Fund Companies and individuals Held by customers Total Incl. non-residents Total (5+6+7+8+9) Incl. blocked 1. Short-term government securities 123– Short-term, total 2. Medium- term government securities 123– Medium-term, total 3. Long-term government securities 123– Long-term, total Government securities, total

6 Ordinance No 15 of the MF and the BNB
Appendix 2
to Article 10, paragraph 2, item 2
INFORMATION on government securities kept by ................................................... , (subdepository) held by customers of ESROT participants which are not subdepositories as of ........ (date) ESROT participant Type of ISIN code of the issue Total government which is not a subdepository currency securities held by customers (at nominal value)
I. Name of the participant Short-term
-
Short-term, total
Medium-term
-
Medium-term, total
Long-term
-
Long-term, total
II. Name of the participant Short-term
-
Short-term, total
Medium-term
-
Medium-term, total
Long-term
-
Long-term, total
III. Name of the participant Short-term
-
Short-term, total
Medium-term
-
Medium-term, total
Long-term
-
Long-term, total
Customers’ government securities held by the participant, total