jorgovanka tabakovi : the national bank of serbia - mirror of the state before the people and a reflection of the people before the world speech by dr jorgovanka tabakovi, governor of the national bank of serbia, at the national bank of serbia's 140th anniversary, belgrade, 2 july 2024. * * * esteemed mr president, esteemed prime minister, esteemed ministers, your excellencies, dear friends and colleagues, the national bank of serbia, whose 140 years of existence we are celebrating today, has always been a mirror of the state before the people and a reflection of the people before the world. stability has become a new reality in serbia. nowadays, no one in serbia has to look at the exchange rate lists with trepidation... confidence, which is necessary and binding for us, is earned only if you have results. and there are no strategies or tactics here... " it takes courage to be moderate. " it takes strength to stay true to yourself and to persevere, both when you are challenged and when you are applauded, and when you are paid no heed to... it is with this joint handwriting that we are writing the history of serbia, and of the national bank of serbia, as its inseparable part. and it is our joint handwriting that is recognisable in every signature of mine. deeds, not words. to think and respond in a timely manner, to be prepared to tackle the unforeseen, to be determined in implementing measures, even at the cost of provoking initial misapprehension and antagonising some interest groups – all this was necessary for the national bank of serbia to be successful... and though globalisation and technological development will usher in some seemingly new theories, the one thing that never changes is that we work with people and for people, and that stability has no alternative. this is the only way we can preserve and protect serbia. given today's occasion, you will allow me to recall, together with you, the path we have travelled and to go back in time for a moment. since time immemorial, it has been known that, in addition to the traditional national symbols – the coat - of - arms, flag and anthem – the spirit and the strength of a country are made up of its tradition, culture and national currency. the roots of our monetary system and the establishment

housing simply becomes unaffordable. the bank ’ s property price index – which is based on advertised prices – fell moderately on a year earlier during the september quarter. while domestic banks have been more prudent than banks abroad, however, the continuing high dependence on property as a driver of credit growth, and as collateral for other lending, remains a source of risk. at the same time, it is important to reiterate the strengths of the domestic banking system. in june 2008, the capital adequacy ratio stood at 14 % on average, as against a statutory minimum of 8 %, while the average liquidity ratio was 48 %, well above the 30 % benchmark. the loan to deposit ratio averaged a prudent 77 %, while non - performing loans extended their downward trend. the central bank of malta has been playing an active role in responding to the events i have described. first, with the support of my bank colleagues, i have participated in the deliberations and decisions of the governing council of the ecb on the provision of liquidity and on monetary policy. allow me at this point to digress briefly. as we said in our statement after the november meeting, we expect the banking sector to make its contribution to restoring confidence. reinforcing this message, the president pointed out that central banks and governments had taken bold decisions, and now commercial banks, too, had to live up to their responsibilities, especially at a time of deteriorating growth prospects. with bank lending rates in malta being generally set with reference to official policy rates, i would, therefore, expect bank customers, particularly those whose borrowings promise most to support domestic economic activity, to benefit fully from the recent ecb rate cuts, which have totalled 175 basis points. apart from its monetary policy role, the central bank of malta is also charged with preserving financial stability, which it defines as a condition where the financial system is able to allocate savings towards investment opportunities and facilitates the efficient settlement of payments. a stable financial system is also one that is able to manage risks that may harm its performance, and consequently that of the economy, and that should be able to absorb shocks without impairing its operations. the bank carries out this task through the regular monitoring of the financial system, as well as of the domestic payment and securities settlement systems. the bank ’ s findings are shared with the malta financial services authority ( mfsa ) and with the ministry of finance. the authority