The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) held the Annual Meeting of Officers under the motto “Vision in Action – Results and Outlooks”, where the results for 2024 and the Strategic Plan of the CBBH for the period 2025-2027 were presented.
It was emphasized that the mission of the CBBH, the preservation of monetary and financial stability through the issuance of domestic currency according to the arrangement of the currency board, remains the basis of its activities. The bank’s strategic priorities include monetary and financial stability, modernization and digitization of business processes, human resources management, and international connectivity and social engagement.
During the meeting, the participants referred to the key achievements in 2024, including the development of human resources, the modernization of infrastructure and the introduction of SEPA standards, with a special focus on the integration of the principles of sustainable development.
CBBH Governor Jasmina Selimović pointed out that the year at the end brought numerous challenges, but also successes. She referred to the results of operations and activities realized during 2024, emphasizing the key steps that will shape the future work of the institution.
At the end of November 2024, the bank’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to 17.2 billion KM, which is 1.52 billion KM more than in 2023, while net foreign assets amounted to 1.34 billion KM, which represents an increase of 456, 9 million KM compared to the previous year.
During 2024, the coverage coefficient of the currency board increased significantly, which on November 30 of this year was 108.47 percent, with an estimate that it will amount to more than 109 percent by the end of the year. This means that the Central Bank has more than nine percent of net foreign exchange reserves to absorb interest and credit risk, which additionally confirms the stability of the currency board. During the year, monetary gold reserves increased to the highest level since the establishment of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Realized net profit for 11 months of 2024 was 399,582,286 KM, which is 156,638,002 KM more than in the same period of the previous year and 30.22 percent more than planned for that period, reports Fena.
Capital and reserves for 11 months of 2024 amount to 1,432,545,521 KM, which is 513,854,416 KM more compared to the same period in 2023.
By the decision of the Governing Council of the CBBH, in 2024, the process of withdrawing from circulation convertible banknotes in the denominations of 10 KM, 20 KM, 50 KM and 100 KM issued between 1998 and 2009 began. With the support of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the process of improving the protective features of the convertible mark was initiated, with the aim of preserving the integrity of the domestic currency and raising the quality standards of money. With the Croatian Mint, the CBBH signed an Agreement on the production and delivery of convertible mark coins in denominations of 1; 0.50; 0.20; 0.10; 0.05.
– We positioned the CBBH in the international context and hosted more than 20 ambassadors and other representatives of international organizations – Governor Selimović said.
She pointed out that the CBBH intensified the activities within its mandate in the part related to the EU accession process, and the first workshop on the EU accession process was held in the CBBH, which marked the beginning of bilateral cooperation with the Croatian National Bank within the framework of the IPA regional Capacity Building Program of the central banks of the Western Balkans, with the aim of integration into the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed with the Directorate for Economic Planning (DEP) specifying the exchange of data and information that will enable the harmonization of internal business processes with the relevant calendars of reporting to the EU institutions. The participation of the CBBH was specifically defined with the aim of improving the comprehensiveness and quality of the document “Economic Reforms Program (PER) of Bosnia and Herzegovina”. As part of activities in the field of international cooperation and EU integration, the CBBH organized and participated in important conferences and meetings in cooperation with international partners (IMF, World Bank, EU, SECO, Central Banking, EBRD, EFSE).
– We placed the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the map of the members of the most important world networks for sustainable financing and greening of the financial system – The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), which consists of 141 central banks and regulators of the banking sector of developed and developing countries, as well as 21 international an observer organization, and the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN) consisting of 94 organizations from 72 countries, covering at least 92% of banking assets in countries that are considered developing markets – added the governor.
The CBBH also joined the World Bank’s Advisory and Reserve Management Partnership (RAMP), whose experts provide assistance in terms of management, strategic asset allocation, portfolio and risk management, as well as instruments for securing foreign currency.
From January 2025, the CBBH, in cooperation with the EFSE, and with the financial support of the EU, will work on the introduction of statistical reporting on gender equality in the financial sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as on the development of gender-sensitive/responsible policies within the operations of the CBBH.
Selimović also pointed to significant projects to improve the level of cyber security in 2024, which, among other things, relate to the establishment of cooperation on the exchange of cyber events with the institutions of BiH through the banking supervision coordination body and the expansion of the system for monitoring personal data to include databases within Payment systems. An external cyber security risk assessment was also conducted and the vulnerability of the information system of the CBBH was checked.
Special attention was paid to strengthening the bank’s reputation through increased transparency and openness to the public, which resulted in a professional attitude of the media towards the institution.
Acting as a socially responsible institution, monetary donations were collected on behalf of CBBH officials for flooded areas, CBBH officials responded to the campaign of voluntary blood donation, and CBBH also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with SOS Children’s Villages of BH, in order to enable children without parental care paid practice and professional mentoring with the aim of their career development and easier integration in the labor market.
In the field of financial education, more than 50 visits were organized with 1,452 pupils and students within the framework of the Central Office, main units and branches of the CBBH. Additionally, a multi-year project of introducing financial education into the educational system was launched with eight public economic faculties, entity banking agencies and insurance supervision agencies. The CBBH became a member of the EFMD Global network, which enabled the introduction of the highest standards of learning and knowledge transfer.
By organizing that meeting, the CBBH once again showed its commitment to unity and joint achievement of goals for the purpose of strengthening the CBBH as a monetary institution, and thus strong foundations for the further economic development of the state, the CBBH announced.
biznis.ba
