Three missions from the IMF Central Banking Department helped to formulate a

new central bank statute for Bulgaria. According to this statute the central bank is

not subject to government directives on monetary policy, nor are these direct

representatives of the government on the central bank board. The central bank’s

legally defined primary goal is internal and external currency stability. Central

bank credit to the government can have no more than a three-month maturity,

and total credit may not exceed 5percent of expected currency-year revenues

and certain other government-central bank assets, including reserves.

Nonetheless, parliament sanctioned a ten-year government credit in 1992. Five

of the nine members of the central bank board are nominees of the central bank

governor. Parliament appoints the governor, who is, however, legally protected

from arbitrary dismissal. Even so, the central bank governor Unlcher, appointed

in 1991, was forced to resign in 1992 after public attacks orchestrated by

opponents of his tight money policy.