The Council of the Croatian National Bank discussed current monetary and economic trends at today’s meeting and accepted the report on the central bank’s operations in the first half of this year.
Additionally, it postponed its final statement regarding whether there is a conflict of interest involving its members Sandra Švaljek and Željko Lovrinčević, who are also in the Council of the Prime Minister for the Economy. The HNB Council considered the legal status of its members Sandra Švaljek and Željko Lovrinčević in the context of their announced appointment to the Economic Council of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, as stated in the HNB’s press release. Based on publicly presented information, a dilemma arose as to whether such an appointment contradicts Article 45 of the Law on the Croatian National Bank, which guarantees the independence of the central bank and stipulates that members of the HNB Council cannot, among others, be persons appointed to another position by the Croatian Parliament or the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
Or is it a fundamentally different character, manner, and scope of work of economic advisors, in the form of informal and non-institutionalized personal consultations with the Prime Minister regarding possible ways to resolve current economic problems, without any direct connection to making specific decisions in the Government of the Republic of Croatia. In the absence of any official notice or document, and considering that the members of the highest body of the central bank in question have not been able to provide more specific information in this regard, the HNB Council decided to postpone its final statement until it has the necessary knowledge to make an indisputable and well-founded decision regarding whether there is a conflict of interest, prohibited by the letter and spirit of the Law on the HNB, as emphasized in the press release. At today’s meeting, the HNB Council agreed to the appointment of Gordan Miler as a member of the management board of Societe Generale – Splitska banka d.d., Split, Ante Babić as president, and Zdravko Zrinušić as a member and vice president, as well as Christian Panjol-Tuflija as a member of the management board of Štedbanka d.d., Zagreb, and Natalija Jambrečić as a member of the management board of Vaba banka d.d., Varaždin. (H)
