The CBBH Governor in the dialogue "New Thinking on Economic Growth", held in Ljubljana

Risk management, a high significance of human resources and development of distance working models, and also introduction of new forms of management are only some of the changes which have been brought about in central banking by the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) has been faced with these challenges, which Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Senad Softić, Ph.D. spoke about, participating in the regional policy dialogue, which, named “New Thinking on Economic Growth“ has been held today, on 05 October 2021, in Ljubljana (the Republic of Slovenia). Thecapacities that the economies and businesses of Western Balkans and Turkey need to position themselves on the global economic map, and turning the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic into an opportunity for growth, were the topics of this dialogue, which gathered the representatives of various sectors of the South East Europe countries.

Commenting on the CBBH activities during the pandemic, Governor Softić pointed out the challenges which the CBBH faced in order to ensure business continuity in the circumstances of full lockdown, taking care at the same time of safety and health of its employees.

„All the time during the pandemic, which still lasts, the CBBH has maintained the currency stability, contributing to the overall financial stability in the country“, said Governor Softić, mentioning also the other activities carried out by the CBBH, which are highly important to preserve financial stability in the country: banks required reserve holdings were kept according to the regulations; the foreign exchange reserves were managed in, first of all, safe way; the country's payment systems, as an important factor of financial stability, were functioning without interruptions, with all the transactions carried out regularly; all the needs of banks and economy were settled in respect of cash supply, while bank liquidity remained high all the time; the CBBH regularly performed its fiscal and banking agent obligations for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other public institutions; the coordination with other institutions was efficient; fast and transparent communication with the public was crucial for maintaining the confidence of the public in the steps taken by the CBBH, and also confidence in the overall system stability in such uncertain time.

The future challenge for central banking, financial system and the economy on the whole, as pointed out by the Governor of the CBBH, is reflected in digitisation of economy and crypto assets.

„I would like to say that, searching for new thinking on economic development, we must not forget the risks. Crypto assets are not a currency and they are speculative due to unstable prices“, Governor said and added that central banks, as financial stability guards, must be especially aware of it, with possibilities for digitisation being undoubtedly enormous, but the risks being high as well.

Therefore, the CBBH will be following up with all the new trends carefully, adjusting to new challenges and reacting in time, Governor Softić concluded.