BOSNIAN FEDERATION ASSEMBLY FAILS TO ADOPT BANKING AGENCY BILL

SARAJEVO, April 17 (Hina) - The Bosnian Federation's constituent assembly resumed a session on Wednesday but failed once again to reach agreement on a Banking Agency bill because of opposition from deputies of the Moslem-led Democratic Action Party (SDA). The bill, tabled by the federal government, was based on Dayton peace agreement provisions which envisaged that before the establishment of a Central Bank of Bosnia-Herzegovina a special agency should be set up on the territory of the Moslem-Croat Federation that would issue business licences to commercial banks and supervise their work. SDA deputies proposed that the matter be discussed in the Republic's assembly, arguing that such an agency should supervise the work of banks on the entire territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina and not just in the Federation. They also demanded that the authority of the Agency be substantially curtailed. "A simple question arises - are we going to implement what we have signed?" Federation President Kresimir Zubak said. The bill did not receive a necessary number of votes and was returned to the federal government for modification. (hina) vm jn 172101 MET apr 96