Bulgaria Parliament Committee to Hear C-Bank Head Candidates Next Week

A hearing of the four nominees to take over as the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) is due next week, Parliament's Budget and Finance Committee has announced.

The development comes just hours after the incumbent Ivan Iskrov, whose term was to expire in October, stepped down.

His resignation, which he announced in an open letter sent to the media and uploaded on the BNB's website, will be in force as of July 10, when the interim period leading to the official end of his term begins.

Four contenders are vying to replace him, with Dimitar Radev, backed by the main ruling party GERB, being considered the most likely successor.

Radev is a seasoned economist with experience at the International Monetary Fund, but underlined those of other candidates as well. GERB endorsed his candidacy, and the Reformist Bloc tabled its own proposal but said it was not against that of its coalition partner.

ABV's contender is Victor Yotzov, who previously worked at the Economic Analyses department at the BNB.

The PF nominated Grigorii Vazov, who heads the University of Finance, Business  and Entrepreneurship (VUZF) and who previously served as Deputy Economy Minister.

Biser Manolov, backed by the Reformist Bloc, headed the Deposits Insurance Fund in 2003-2011, and is still part of the fund's Governing Council.