Šuker announced an increase in deposit insurance to at least 50 thousand euros

Finance Minister Ivan Šuker, who leads the Croatian delegation at the Annual Meeting of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, stated on Saturday after a meeting with WB leaders for Eastern Europe that “the Croatian banking system is safe” and announced a government decision on Monday to increase deposit insurance in banks in Croatia to at least 50 thousand euros.

"I will repeat what I have been saying for about ten days: the Croatian banking system is safe", said Finance Minister Ivan Šuker on Saturday in Washington after a meeting with the heads of the Eastern Europe office at the World Bank. Pointing to difficulties with the "psychological moment" and pressure through which the global financial crisis is reflected in Croatia and causes fear among citizens, Šuker announced that the Croatian government will make a decision on Monday to increase the insurance of savings deposits to at least 50,000 euros.

"The Croatian government will certainly react, and we will, probably on Monday, make a decision to increase the insurance of savings deposits of Croatian citizens", said Šuker, adding that he does not want to talk about the amount, but that it "will certainly not be below the amount in most European countries, which is 50,000 euros." Assessing that, considering the banking crises that Croatia experienced about ten years ago and the then losses of citizens’ savings, the presence of fear is a "normal thing," Šuker conveyed that "Croatian citizens should not be afraid." "I can assure Croatian citizens to be calm and not to fear, the government of Dr. Ivo Sanader will certainly make such a decision on Monday," said Šuker. Minister Šuker, who leads the Croatian delegation at the Annual Meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, met on Saturday with the Vice President of the World Bank for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Shigeo Katsu and the Director of the World Bank for Croatia Orsalia Kalantzopoulos, with whom he discussed the implementation of the recently approved Partnership Strategy between Croatia and the World Bank for the period from 2009 to 2012 and the impact of the global financial crisis on Croatia and the region.

Minister Šuker emphasized at the meeting that the consequences of the financial crisis have not significantly affected Croatia, but that the state is maximally focused on current events within its monetary and fiscal policy and has mechanisms for rapid and effective action, the Ministry of Finance announced after the meeting. The minister announced an increase in the amount up to which the government guarantees savings deposits of citizens as a measure to strengthen citizens’ trust in the banking system. The two interlocutors agreed on the assessments of the stability of the Croatian banking system, but also emphasized the importance of maintaining calmness and consumer confidence, as the disrupted consumer confidence in numerous countries has intensified the negative effects of current disturbances.

The meeting also discussed the implementation of the new Partnership Strategy between the World Bank and the Republic of Croatia for the next four years, focused on the earliest possible accession of Croatia to EU membership, achieving EU income levels, and raising the standard of living for citizens. Minister Šuker expressed satisfaction with the previous cooperation and support of the World Bank for Croatia. He particularly highlighted the importance of a new irrigation loan of 72.5 million euros, which will enable the preparation of areas for reclamation in Slavonia and food production. Projects in the fields of health, justice, environmental protection, and increasing the capacity of the Port of Rijeka are also in preparation.

On Saturday, Minister Šuker also met with Herman Wijffels, who leads the Dutch Constituency at the World Bank and IMF in which Croatia is included, and with Ruud Treffers, who will succeed him on November 1. The minister thanked for the excellent cooperation and support that the Republic of Croatia has received in the last two years and expressed hope for the continuation of the successful cooperation. The Netherlands is one of the largest donors in Croatia across various sectors and in the implementation of various reforms, and Croatia has received the largest amount of non-repayable funds from the Netherlands.