site.bta Fiscal Reserve to Drop from 8.8 Billion to 3.8 Billion in Four Months

Fiscal Reserve to Drop from 8.8 Billion to 3.8 Billion in Four Months

Sofia, November 6 (BTA) - Bulgaria's fiscal reserve amounts to
8.824 billion leva as at September 30, 2014, but upcoming
payments will reduce it to 3.8 billion leva by the end of
January 2015, Finance Minister Roumen Porozhanov said at
Question Time in Parliament Thursday.

Porozhanov was responding to a question by Kornelia Ninova MP
about the state of the fiscal reserve.

He explained that the current amount of the fiscal reserve is
also influenced by an extraordinary issue of government
securities worth 1.2 billion leva, which was released at the end
of June 2014 in support of the banking sector. Larger payments
which are due at the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 will
cause the reserve to shrink. The remainder of 2014 will see 1.6
billion leva in payments on government securities, including
1.229 billion leva on the extraordinary issue. Early in 2015 the
reserve will also provide 2.9 billion leva towards maturing
global bonds. Furthermore, money transfers are planned for
farmers under direct payment schemes within the EU common
agricultural policy, including 300 million leva due in 2014 and
1.1 billion leva due at the beginning of 2015. Last but not
least, money will be needed towards the current account deficit
in the last quarter of 2014 and at the start of 2015.

Porozhanov said it is necessary to update the national budget in
order to replenish the fiscal reserve and reduce the deficit.
He added that money is also needed for banking liquidity support
and for payments to clients of the Corporate Commercial Bank
through the Bulgarian Deposit Insurance Fund.

At the end of December the fiscal reserve is expected to amount
to 7.3 billion leva before dropping to 3.8 billion leva at the
end of January, the Minister said.

Responding to a question by Roumen Gechev MP, Porozhanov said no
payments have been made in violation of the National Budget
Act. The extraordinary payments approved by the government are
being financed from budgetary savings and adjustments, the
Finance Minister noted.

He said there is much strain on the expenditure part of the
national budget, because the budgets of government agencies have
been limited and the agencies have difficulty performing their
functions.

The outgoing caretaker government has prepared over 90 per cent
of the forecasts and plans relevant to the national budget in
2015, but the budget scheme should be drawn up by the new
government, Porozhanov said.