site.btaCentral Bank Discloses Monthly Pay of its Former Governor

Central Bank Discloses Monthly Pay of its Former Governor after Initial Refusal

Sofia, September 19 (BTA) - The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has disclosed the gross average monthly pay of its former governor Ivan Iskrov and his deputies Kalin Hristov and Dimiter Kostov after refusing to provide such information for a long time. Between July 2014 and June 2015, Iskrov earned an average of 16,546 leva monthly, and Hristov and Kostov received 14,983 leva each.

This was their gross average monthly pay, including all kinds of base income and supplements before tax.

The average monthly wage in Bulgaria is under 1,000 leva.

In its press release, dated September 18, the central bank noted that the information was being disclosed after the three declared their consent pursuant to the Personal Information Protection Act.

BNB recalled that on July 30 its Governing Council adopted a decision on setting and disclosing the emoluments of the Governing Council members. The principles of calculating the emoluments and their size are posted on the bank's website www.bnb.bg.

The question about the pay received by the BNB Governor and Governing Council and the methods of its calculation was raised by independent MP Velizar Enchev in July, when the National Assembly was electing a new central bank chief. Enchev claimed that the monthly salary of the BNB Governor was 45,000 leva.