The bank deposits of the people are protected very well. The government will suggest that deposits be guaranteed up to 50,000 euro, compared to the current level of protection of 20,000 euro, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev told a news conference at the Council of Ministers Thursday. The government is following the global financial processes and is ready with different variants of measures, he added.

There are no system risks or difficulties for the Bulgarian banks, Stanishev said. This comes as a result of the purposeful policy of the government and the Bulgarian National Bank. The capital adequacy of the banks is 14.5 per cent, compared to 14 per cent in 2007.

The fiscal reserve now stands at 11,000 million leva and that is an anchor of stability of the financial system and the deposits of Bulgarian citizens, the Prime Minister said and added that the decision of the EU financial ministers is very important.

The EU finance ministers said in a joint statement released Tuesday that they had agreed "to take all necessary measures to enhance the soundness and stability of our banking system and to protect the deposits of individual savers." After a monthly meeting in Luxembourg, the ministers said they had agreed to "coordinate" actions and to consider potential cross-border effects of decisions by individual countries.

The ministers emphasized "the appropriateness of an approach including ... recapitalization of vulnerable systematically relevant financial institutions" in order to protect the interests of depositors and the stability of the financial system. The statement said ministers agreed that all EU member states wouldguarantee deposits of at least 50,000 euro for individuals.

It is important what impact the financial crisis will have on economic growth, Stanishev continued. This stood at 7 per cent in January-June and foreign direct investments by the end of the summer were 2,800 million euro, he pointed out.

The Bulgarian government has prepared a package of anti-inflation measures, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said. "Our main goals are two - to maintain a high level of financial reserves for the stability of the country and low inflation rates. The sharp rise of fuel and food is a process already under control," Kalfin said. "We shall undertake measures to protect people with low incomes to compensate for the rise of energy resources prices. In respect to all other expenses the government will impose considerable restrictions," he added.

Source: BTA