jorgovanka tabakovic : people, knowledge and trust are the key foundations of states and all institutions, particularly banking speech by dr jorgovanka tabakovic, governor of the national bank of serbia, on the occasion of marking the 100th anniversary of the association of serbian banks, belgrade, 4 december 2021. * * * esteemed ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, it is a pleasure and honour to greet you, from the position of the governor, on behalf of the national bank of serbia and in my personal name, on the day when the association of serbian banks is marking an entire century since its founding. your 100th anniversary deserves respect in historical terms as it attests to the durability of one of the oldest associations of banks in europe. the spirit of history commits us, just as it commits the national bank of serbia, which, with its 137 - year - long tradition ranks among the oldest central banks in the world. if we take a retrospective view of our institution from its very inception to date, we shall unavoidably discern that the rising complexity of economic relations called for increasing authorities of the national bank of serbia, whereby we have become part of the group of central banks with the largest number of competences. the traditional functions of preserving monetary and financial stability were complemented with the supervision of financial institutions and financial education. transparency is today one of important characteristics of central bank functioning. our objective is to ensure that our decisions are understood and that we are the service of our citizens that they deserve. we are clear in our attitude and decisive in our intention not to allow any speculations that could sway the exchange rate into a direction that would be undesirable for our citizens and businesses, and i believe this is the warranty of our successful duration. today, when we talk about history, i cannot but mention that it also implies the obligation and responsibility in terms of constant development and advancement of professionalism, expertise and true values. of course, the notion of true values depends on who defines them. i am certain that we all agree that people, knowledge and trust are the key foundations of states and all institutions, particularly banking. trust is a house of cards, destroyed by a tad of doubt, while the fortresses of doubt are made of the strongest material – prejudices and fear. esteemed ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, we have learned through history that financial crises have often broken out as the crises of trust and a disconne

of the state before the people and the reflection of the people before the world, just as the association of serbian banks is the mirror of banks before citizens and businesses. today, when we are reminding ourselves of what has been done, let us not be lulled with what we have achieved. just like all sectors, the banking sector must share the destiny of businesses and citizens, yesterday, today and tomorrow, because it is only in such way that we can last. “ study the past if you would define the future ”, said confucius. and i wish to add : look into the past only occasionally in order to remind ourselves of what we have lived through, what we have learned and done, while at the same time being constantly focused on future challenges. this is the recipe for success. there are no final victories and it is our task to continue to create conditions worthy of man of the 21th century – the conditions that future generations will look at with pride when commemorating the next jubilee. because nothing starts without people and nothing ends without institutions. happy anniversary! 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches