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

Ordinance No. 15 of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB 1

Ordinance No. 15 of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB of 4 October 2007 on control over transactions in government securities (Published in "State Gazette", No. 85 of 23 October 2007; amended, No. 29 of 2017; supplemented, No. 13 of 2021; amended and supplemented, No. 4 of 2026)

Chapter One
General Provisions

Art. 1. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 29 of 2017.) This Ordinance determines the procedure and manner for regulating and exercising control over:

1. transactions and registration of operations carried out with dematerialized government securities, hereinafter referred to as "GS", on the primary market;
2. registration of transactions with GS on the secondary market, including those concluded on a regulated market or a multilateral trading facility.

Art. 2. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 29 of 2017; amended – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026.) The regulation and control over transactions and registration of operations with GS on the primary market and over the registration of transactions with GS on the secondary market cover the control for compliance with the provisions of the State Debt Law, the ordinances under Art. 36, para. 1 and 3 of the State Debt Law, and the issued rules and instructions from the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

Art. 3. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 29 of 2017.) The regulation and control over transactions and registration of operations with GS on the primary market and the registration of transactions with GS on the secondary market are aimed at ensuring a fair, efficient, and transparent GS market, protecting investor interests, and minimizing risks in GS registration systems in accordance with the principles adopted by CPMI (Committee on Payment and Market Infrastructures) and IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions), and the standards for securities clearing and settlement systems adopted by the ESCB (European System of Central Banks) and ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority).

Chapter Two
Selection of Primary Dealers of GS

Art. 4. (1) Primary dealers of GS may be:

1. banks, whose license includes the services and activities under Art. 2, para. 2, items 8 and 9 of the Credit Institutions Law, including those from other member states;
2. investment intermediaries, having obtained a license for carrying out investment services and activities under the Law on Markets in Financial Instruments, including those from other member states.

(2) The persons under para. 1, applying to be primary dealers of GS, must be participants in the electronic system for registration and servicing of GS trade (ESROT) and have an own clearing account opened at the BNB.

(3) Banks that are not sub-custodians of GS and investment intermediaries must have concluded a contract with a bank – sub-custodian of GS, and have an own clearing account opened at the BNB.

(4) The persons under para. 1, applying to be primary dealers of GS, must have qualified personnel with the necessary knowledge and experience for working with GS. The qualification of the personnel is established once for each employee authorized by the primary dealer to conclude transactions with GS, by successfully solving a written test developed by the Ministry of Finance.

Art. 5. The selection of primary dealers of GS is carried out by a commission determined by the Minister of Finance. The commission meets at least once a year and selects primary dealers for a period of one year.

Art. 6. (1) Primary dealers are selected based on criteria for the selection of primary dealers of GS, which are approved by the Minister of Finance.

(2) The commission draws up a list of candidates for primary dealers of GS who meet the criteria for the selection of primary dealers of GS. The Minister of Finance approves the list of primary dealers. The approved list of primary dealers is published on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

(3) The criteria for the selection of primary dealers of GS contain the main requirements for participants on the primary GS market, which they must fulfill if they wish to carry out activities as primary dealers.

Art. 7. (1) The candidate for primary dealer submits an application to the Ministry of Finance, in which it declares that it meets the criteria for the selection of primary dealers of GS and undertakes to fulfill them during the period for which it is selected.

(2) The application under para. 1 is signed by the persons representing the candidate for primary dealer of GS.

(3) The following are attached to the application under para. 1:

1. copy of the license for investment intermediary or bank;
2. copy of the concluded contract with a sub-custodian bank, if the candidate for primary dealer of GS is not a sub-custodian of GS;
3. unified tariff for fees and commissions related to operations and services carried out with GS;
4. declaration of financial status;
5. internal rules for operations with GS and declaration of the existence of an effective and reliable internal control system;
6. (amended – State Gazette, No. 29 of 2017) list of personnel of the primary dealer in accordance with the requirements under Art. 4, para. 4, who will carry out operations on the GS market.

(4) The documents under this Ordinance, issued in a foreign language, must be accompanied by a certified translation into Bulgarian.

(5) Primary dealers notify the Ministry of Finance within one week of any change in the documents under para. 3, occurring during the period for which they are selected.

Art. 8. (1) Investment intermediaries and banks approved as primary dealers of GS conclude a primary dealer contract for GS with the Ministry of Finance.

(2) The primary dealer contract for GS specifies the main rights and obligations of the primary dealer, the conditions under which the contract may be terminated early, as well as other conditions essential for regulating the relations between primary dealers and the issuer of GS.

(3) In the event of changes in the criteria for the selection of primary dealers of GS, in the rights, obligations, or other conditions specified in the primary dealer contract, the parties sign an annex to the contract.

(4) The concluded primary dealer contract is automatically terminated when the primary dealer is not selected for the next one-year period.

(5) The Minister of Finance may exclude a primary dealer from the list of primary dealers in case:

1. it does not fulfill the criteria and requirements under which it was selected as a primary dealer;
2. (amended – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026) it does not fulfill the requirements under this Ordinance or the ordinance under Art. 36, para. 1 of the State Debt Law;
3. one or more of the obligations under the primary dealer contract are violated.

Art. 8a. (New – State Gazette, No. 13 of 2021) (1) The Minister of Finance jointly with the primary dealers of GS may create the Committee of Primary Dealers of GS, which has advisory functions and serves for the exchange of information and making recommendations between the issuer and the primary dealers of GS.

(2) A representative of the "Fiscal Services" Directorate at the BNB participates as an observer in the work of the committee under para. 1.

Chapter Three
Organization and Scope of Control

Art. 9. Control over the registration systems for transactions with GS at the BNB and at the sub-custodians of GS is carried out by the Ministry of Finance and the BNB.

Art. 10. (1) (Amended – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026.) The Bulgarian National Bank and the Ministry of Finance jointly exercise control over the registration systems for transactions with GS, maintained by the sub-custodians of GS in accordance with Art. 24 of the ordinance under Art. 36, para. 1 of the State Debt Law regarding:

1. the presence of an automated register of individual accounts for GS, accounting for the GS owned by their clients and by clients of participants in ESROT who are not sub-custodians of GS, with whom 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 carries out:

1. (supplemented – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026) reconciliation of the data in the ESROT system with the information received electronically from participants in the system regarding the GS owned by them and in total by their clients by nominal value, as well as the mobilized GS for the purposes of securing the credit operations of the Eurosystem (Appendix No. 1);
2. reconciliation of the data from the reports under Appendix No. 1 for GS owned in total by clients of participants in ESROT who are not sub-custodians of GS, with those from the reports received electronically from the sub-custodians (Appendix No. 2).

(3) The reconciliations under para. 2 are carried out daily, weekly, and monthly in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB.

Art. 11. (1). (Supplemented – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026.) The Bulgarian National Bank organizes and carries out daily control over the activity of registration and accounting of transactions with GS on the primary and secondary markets in accordance with the existing regulatory framework through introduced operational procedures and mechanisms and daily reconciliation of the data for GS in ESROT and those in the Central Depository of Securities (CDS) and the TARGET2 – Securities platform.

(2) In accordance with established international standards, recommendations, and programs for disclosure of information regarding the activity of depository systems, developed and adopted by specialized international organizations, the BNB periodically reports the parameters of the functioning of ESROT and CDS by filling out the questionnaires created for the purpose of assessment by rating agencies. The answers to the questionnaires are published by the BNB on its official internet page.

Chapter Four
Forms of Control and Powers of the Inspecting Bodies

Art. 12. (Amended – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026.) Control over the registration of transactions with GS is carried out based on reports, statements, information, and other documents submitted by participants in ESROT monthly, quarterly, or upon request by the Ministry of Finance and the BNB in accordance with the requirements under this Ordinance and the ordinances under Art. 36, para. 1 and 3 of the State Debt Law.

Art. 12a. (New – State Gazette, No. 13 of 2021.) The Ministry of Finance may create and maintain an information system in connection with the implementation of Art. 6 and 12.

Art. 13. (1) On-site inspection at the sub-custodians of GS is 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 by persons authorized by them.

(2) The inspecting persons have the right:

1. to free access to the office premises and documentation related to transactions with GS of the inspected persons;
2. to request additional statements, information, and other documents related to the inspection.

Art. 14. The inspecting persons are obliged to observe banking and professional secrecy, which became known to them in connection with the inspection carried out by them.

Art. 15. The managers and employees of the inspected persons are obliged to assist the representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB in carrying out their activities.

Art. 16. The persons who carry out the inspection:

1. make an analysis of the inspected activity;
2. (amended – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026) give conclusions on the compliance of the documents submitted under Art. 12 with the requirements under this Ordinance and the ordinances under Art. 36, para. 1 and 3 of the State Debt Law;
3. draw up a record of findings on the results of the carried out inspection in three copies, one of which they provide to the inspected persons.

Art. 17. Upon establishing violations, the inspecting persons notify the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the BNB, who in accordance with their powers, personally or through persons authorized by them, may take the following measures of influence:

1. written warning;
2. (amended – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026) exclusion from the lists under the ordinance under Art. 36, para. 1 of the State Debt Law of participants in the Central Depository of Securities (CDS) and in ESROT;
3. exclusion from the list of primary dealers.

Additional Provision
(New – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026)

§ 1. (New – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026.) For the purposes of this Ordinance, "Mobilized GS" are GS that are transferred without change of ownership from the account "GS, owned by the participant" to the account for mobilized GS for the purpose of securing the credit operations of the Eurosystem.

Transitional and Final Provisions

§ 1a. (Previous § 1 – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026.) This Ordinance is issued on the basis of Art. 36, para. 2 of the State Debt Law and enters into force from 1 November 2007.

§ 2. This Ordinance repeals Ordinance No. 15 of 2002 on control over transactions in dematerialized government securities (published, State Gazette, No. 119 of 2002; amended, No. 38 of 2006).

§ 3. Persons approved by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the BNB as primary dealers for the period from 1 July 2007 to 31 October 2007, continue to be primary dealers until 31 March 2008, carrying out their activities in accordance with Ordinance No. 5 on the procedure and conditions for acquisition, registration, redemption, and trade of government securities of 2007.

§ 4. Banks that are not sub-custodians of GS, and investment intermediaries under § 3 must conclude a contract with a bank – sub-custodian of GS, within a period until 30 November 2007.

§ 5. The Bulgarian National Bank and the Ministry of Finance issue jointly and separately instructions on the application of this Ordinance.

4 Ordinance No. 15 of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB

ORDINANCE on supplementing Ordinance No. 15 of 2007 on control over transactions in government securities (Published in "State Gazette", No. 13 of 16 February 2021) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Final Provision § 3. The Ordinance enters into force from the day of its publication in the "State Gazette".

ORDINANCE on amending and supplementing Ordinance No. 15 of 4 October 2007 on control over transactions in government securities (Published in "State Gazette", No. 4 of 13 January 2026) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Final Provision § 10. This Ordinance is issued on the basis of Art. 36, para. 2 of the State Debt Law.

Ordinance No. 15 of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB

Appendix No. 1
to Art. 10, para. 2, item 1 (Amended – State Gazette, No. 4 of 2026) Statement for GS owned by (participant) and its clients by 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 GS in own portfolio GS, owned by clients ALL (4+11) actually owned blocked for budget, under ZOO and by other reasons mobilized GS mobilized GS total (1+2+3) banks other investment intermediaries (under the LMFI) pension funds and insurance companies Deposit Insurance Fund in banks total firms and citizens owned by clients total incl. foreign persons incl. blocked 1. Short-term GS – Total short-term 2. Medium-term GS – Total medium-term 3. Long-term GS – Total long-term Total GS " total (5+6+7+8+9)

6 Ordinance No. 15 of the Ministry of Finance and the BNB

Appendix No. 2
to Art. 10, para. 2, item 2
STATEMENT for the GS stored by ....................................................... GS, (sub-custodian) owned by clients of participants in ESROT, who are not sub-custodians as of .................. (date) Participant in ESROT, who is not a sub-custodian Type of currency ISIN code of the issue Total GS, owned by clients (nominal value)
I. Name
of the participant:
Short-term GS

Total short-term
Medium-term GS

Total medium-term
Long-term GS

Total long-term
II. Name
of the participant:
Short-term GS

Total short-term
Medium-term GS

Total medium-term
Long-term GS
Total long-term
III. Name
of the participant:
Short-term GS

Total short-term
Medium-term GS

Total medium-term
Long-term GS

Total long-term
Total client GS of the participant