s capital is amortised. bis central bankers ’ speeches the path pursued by the sector as a whole – to contain financial and operating expenses while combining diversification with the harnessing of competitive advantages and moderating dividend pay - outs and remuneration – is an appropriate one for adjusting to the new competitive, regulatory and supervisory environment within the framework of the ssm. turning to what are essentially institutional matters, several challenges remain. i would like to indicate three of these. first, to conclude the reform of the spanish banking sector, it is necessary to complete the adaptation of savings banks to the new arrangements stipulated in law 26 / 2013 of 27 december 2013 on savings banks and bank foundations. this law is a fundamental step for ensuring that all credit institutions are managed independently and professionally so that the governance problems which contributed to destabilising part of our financial system are diffused once and for all. in practical terms, this year should see the completion of the transformation of virtually all of the savings banks – those still existing as such – into ordinary foundations or bank foundations. for this purpose, and as it is legally conferred to do, the banco de espana is drafting a circular. this circular will regulate the core aspects of the functioning of bank foundations in order to safeguard the healthy and prudent exercise of the dividend and voting rights corresponding to them as the shareholders of credit institutions, thereby ensuring the professional management of such credit institutions. the circular will specify aspects such as : ( i ) the content of the protocol governing bank foundations ’ management of their ownership interest in the credit institution ; ( ii ) the financial plan, which will envisage how they must meet the possible capital needs of the institution in which they have an ownership interest ; and ( iii ) the requirements which the reserve fund must fulfil as regards its funding, target volume and possible uses ; all the foregoing in cases where, given the percentage of ownership they hold in the credit institutions, these requirements must be met. similarly, the circular will determine the circumstances in which bank foundations will be compelled to diversify their investments and, if appropriate, to relinquish control of the credit institutions which they own through the corresponding divestment. i trust that the period for public consultation of the circular will open shortly. second, the new european framework of resolution is already prompting, in most national jurisdictions, reflection on the institutional architecture of bank resolution. in the past, resolution agreements have required close collaboration between the various authorities

. according to preliminary data of the serbian statistical office, gdp growth in the first quarter this year equalled 2. 3 % y - o - y. excluding the seasonal effect, quarterly gdp growth equalled 0. 9 %, meaning that economic activity has upheld the upward trajectory for 18 consecutive months. though growth in external demand slowed down as of mid - 2018, according to our estimate, the achieved gdp growth is attributable to domestic factors. a key contribution to growth came from fixed investments, which posted an s - a growth of 7. 4 % in the first quarter – namely, private investment by 8. 0 %, and government by 4. 7 %. serbia ’ s economy has become more attractive to investors mainly owing to the improved business climate and favourable financial conditions, while the implementation of infrastructure projects has also accelerated. in regard to this, we should note the increased profitability of the economy, which ended the previous year with a net profit of rsd 500 bn. this is an important source of investment and indicates that investment in our economy pays off. our growth forecast for this year has been retained at 3. 5 %, and we expect it to pick up to around 4 % in the coming years, with growth resting on firm grounds, primarily owing to the preserved macroeconomic stability. chart 7 contributions to y - o - y gdp grow th rate − expenditure side ( in pp ) chart 8 fixed investment ( s - a, in pp. ) - 3 - 2 - 6 - 4 - 9 - 6 - 12 2009 2011 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 net exports government consumption and investment private sector investment household consumption gdp ( in % ) sources : sors and nbs calculation. * nbs estimate for q1 2019. т1 - 8 - 10 2019 * government investment private investment fixed investment ( in % ) sources : sors and nbs calculation * nbs estimate for q1 2019. growth sustainability is also confirmed by the greater integration of our economy in the global economic flows – both trade and capital, since fdi inflows are on the rise. although affected by the slack in external demand and steel quotas, the export of goods recorded a 7. 9 % y - o - y increase in q1 2019, owing to the expansion of supply on account of earlier investments and accelerated sale of the surplus of agricultural commodities carried over from 2018. on the other hand, the expansion of output and investment boosted the import of equipment and intermediate