Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank

a state bank in charge of all settlement operations on exports and imports and on payments of a noncommercial character with foreign countries. It records credits granted by Bulgaria to other states and by other states to Bulgaria, payments on these credits, and clearing agreements. The bank also grants credits to foreign trade enterprises in international currency and in leva, and acts as a clearinghouse between foreign trade enterprises and other enterprises and organizations in the country. It is in charge of the purchase and sale of international currency, payment documents and valuables in national and international currency, and other operations. It has been operating since Apr. 1, 1964. The stockholders of the bank are the Bulgarian People’s Bank (which owns 74 percent of the capital stock), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, several foreign trade enterprises, and others. The agencies of the bank are the general meeting and the bank’s council and board. The capital stock of the bank has been fixed at 40 million leva.