Kovacev said that in the 15 years of its existence, the HBOR supported the Croatian economy with HRK 57 billion that had been provided through 35,000 projects, mainly for the reconstruction of war-ravaged areas, the development of agriculture and tourism, and assistance to start-up businesses.
In the last few years, the HBOR has been increasingly focusing on insuring exports against commercial and other risks and financing the commercialisation of inventions, Kovacev said, adding that the bank was entering its 16th year of work with HRK 15 billion in assets.
The Chairman of the HBOR Supervisory Board, Finance Minister Ivan Suker, said that in 2003 the bank had allocated HRK 350 million for the promotion of exports, while this year the funds for this purpose amounted to HRK 15 billion.
Croatia needs one more strong development bank and that should be the Croatian Postal Bank, Suker said.
Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks said that the HBOR was one of the greatest success of Croatian economic policy, adding that the bank made a considerable contribution to the efforts to ensure the even-handed development of all Croatian areas.
Under the new HBOR Act, the bank's capital stock has been increased from HRK 3.7 billion to 7 billion, which should further encourage its activities, Seks said.
President Stjepan Mesic said that many of the companies that are successful today would not have existed if they had not cooperated with the HBOR, and that the bank played a particularly important role at a time when Croatia was not an attractive financial partner.
The HBOR was able to recognise development priorities and successfully predict market trends, which was of great assistance to the Croatian economy, Mesic said.