The Bulgarian National Bank transferred foreign reserve assets in US dollars and gold to the European Central Bank with effect from 1 January 2026, under Decision (EU) 2026/115 of 31 December 2025 (ECB/2025/44), published in the Official Journal on 15 January 2026. Articles 30.1 and 48.1 of the Statute of the ESCB require the transfer when a Member State’s derogation is abrogated, and set its size from the bank’s weighting in the ECB’s capital key. Under Article 30.3 of the Statute and Article 4(1) of the Decision the ECB credited the Bulgarian National Bank with a euro-denominated claim, which after the offset of its Article 48.2 contribution to the ECB’s reserves and provisions stands at EUR 485 296 405,74. That claim is remunerated from the settlement date on an actual-over-360 basis at a rate equivalent to 85 % of the reference rate.
What the Bulgarian National Bank holds from 1 January 2026 is the euro figure: Article 30.3 credits a claim, and Article 30.1 gives the ECB the right to hold and manage the assets transferred. Reserve transfers under Article 30.1 are composed of currency and gold, and the 85 % factor in the remuneration rate leaves the metal share outside the interest calculation. The equivalent step for a bullion holding is re-registration — the owner of record changes while the bars keep their serial numbers, their line on the weight list and their location, and the change itself triggers no weighing, assay or carriage. A delivery moves bars out of an approved chain and into carriage, and metal that leaves the LBMA Good Delivery chain of integrity is re-assayed before it re-enters. Where movement is required it brings its own layer — carrier authorisation, an Incoterm for the leg, and a customs classification for the corridor — none of which a change of owner inside one facility engages. The screening record attaches to the new owner at the point of re-registration, so a change of title is a compliance event for both parties across a period in which the metal has not moved.
The Decision governs one transfer, by one national central bank, with effect from one date. Composition, valuation and settlement of Eurosystem reserve transfers are set by the Governing Council under Articles 30 and 48 of the Statute of the ESCB.