ZAGREB, June 25 (Hina) - About twenty representatives of the Croatian banking system held talks with representatives of eight Macedonian banks in Zagreb on Wednesday about the establishment of correspondence relations between Croatian
and Macedonian banks.
ZAGREB, June 25 (Hina) - About twenty representatives of the Croatian
banking system held talks with representatives of eight Macedonian banks
in Zagreb on Wednesday about the establishment of correspondence
relations between Croatian and Macedonian banks. #L#
Acting Director of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Department for
Banking and relations with Financial Organisations, Agencies and Funds,
Vlasta Zaninovic, said that the meeting was an operationalisation of the
implementation of the recently signed Agreement on Free Trade between
Croatia and Macedonia.
Recalling the good political relations between the two countries,
Zaninovic said their economic relations would not be difficult to
improve.
The direct goal of the working meeting was the strengthening and
deepening of the cooperation of banking systems of the two countries
and discussing the problems with payment operations, zaninovic said,
adding that 16 Croatian banks had correspondence relations with
Macedonian banks.
Presenting the current situation in the Croatian banking system,
advisor to the director of the Zagreb-based Kreditna Banka management
board, Ognjen Car, stressed that the business operations of Croatian
banks were being carried out in a stable financial and monetary
environment.
Banks were completely autonomous in their business and decisions,
Car said, warning about the trend in the decrease of interest rates.
General Manager of the Skopje-based Komercijalna Banka, Hari
Kostov, said Macedonia was macroeconomically stable, of which the new
investment cycle was proof.
With last year's rate of inflation of two percent, the
rehabilitation of Macedonian banks had ended in good results, which was
proved by the interest of foreign banks for cooperation with Macedonian
banks, such as the European Reconstruction and Development Bank, Kostov
said.
Since last year, Macedonia had registered an increase in industrial
production and social product, he said, adding that Macedonia had signed
agreements with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Present at the meeting was also Macedonian Ambassador to Croatia,
Servet Avziu.
(hina) lm
251419 MET jun 97