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

jorgovanka tabakovic : taking knowledge to a higher level in serbia speech by dr jorgovanka tabakovic, governor of the national bank of serbia, on the occasion of signing of the memorandum of cooperation between the national bank of serbia and the faculty of economics in belgrade, belgrade, 27 january 2016. * * * dear colleagues, esteemed mr. boricic, esteemed members of the press, allow me at the beginning to answer four simple questions. why is this memorandum signed today by mr. boricic, as the dean of the faculty of economics, and myself, as the governor? because, by definition, it is the top manager's task to be in command of the future, finance and human resources. this is and has been the responsibility of the head of an institution. why are we signing this memorandum today, three and a half years into my term in office? because all informal channels, personalities, letters of reference have so far turned out to be an insufficient guarantee that we would get the best people. yes, some came and have stayed, but there are also many who came and left. many of those for whom the nbs was just a stepping stone, a training ground, and, in the worst - case scenario for this country, a reference for a future elsewhere, outside serbia. after signing this memorandum, we will have a chance to select “ the best of the best ” and ensure they stay with the national bank of serbia. how did the memorandum come about? it was at the initiative of the young people from the faculty of economics who are here with us today. they knocked on our doors introducing themselves as the team for serbia. the team. and for me, this was the key word. because, the solution lies not in genius individuals, but in the genius of a team of individuals. a team with a leader – yes, a team at the top – no, and this is why we are here today and why we are signing this memorandum. this meeting is motivated by the basic needs of men : to learn, to progress and to create. and why do we need each other – the faculty of economics in belgrade and the national bank of serbia? because there is no alternative to knowledge. and because in order to add value and improve by practice, you must have something of value to start with. during summer practice in the nbs, students are given a chance to improve on the qualities they already demonstrated during