US Ambassador in Visit to the CBBH

"USA will continue to support activities of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) and its independence", said US Ambassador in BH Douglas McElhaney during the today's visit to the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

USA have supported and assisted work of the CBBH. The US Treasury and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) were involved in several projects which were implemented by the CBBH, which include reform of the payments system, considered to be one of the most successful reforms within the financial sector and the establishment of the capital market.

During the meeting with the CBBH Governor Kemal Kozarić and his associates, Ambassador McElhaney and the Economic Issues Advisor in the US Embassy Chever Voltman have shown interest for the macroeconomic situation in BH and forthcoming challenges, especially for the banking supervision process.

Governor Kozarić explained the current situation with bringing the banking supervision into the CBBH and presented data on the macroeconomic situation in BH, where he stressed poor quality of the official statistics which negatively influences BH reputation abroad.

According to the estimate of the CBBH representatives, for the improvement of the economic situation in BH it is necessary to reduce time required for registration of companies, reduce time required for court proceedings and improve the privatization system. Introduction of the Value Added Tax should simplify the tax system.

The CBBH representatives have expressed their gratitude for the assistance which the CBBH received from US authorities so far and both sides expressed their will for the continuation of the successful cooperation.