Deposit Insurance Agency of BiH also falls into Milorad Dodik's hands!

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

The Deposit Insurance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is managed by the Management Board. The Management Board consists of five members. In addition to the Governor of the Central Bank, the Management Board includes the ministers of finance of the entities and the state of BiH, and one member appointed by the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of BiH.

For three years, one member has been missing because there was no agreement on who it should belong to, or rather, there was no consensus that it should be someone from the Bosniak people, so it was never appointed.

However, according to Patria's information, the coalition at the state level (SNSD, HDZ, and the 'trojka' parties) seems to have reached an agreement that this member position on the Management Board representing the Central Bank of BiH will go to someone from the Serb people.

In practice, this means that out of five members, as many as three will be from the Serb people, which will mean complete control over this important Agency.

Along with Senad Softić, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are also Srđan Amidžić, the Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zora Vidović, the Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska, and Toni Kraljević, the Minister of Finance of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Therefore, if the missing member comes from the Serb people, it is clear that Milorad Dodik will take control of the Deposit Insurance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Otherwise, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or persons they authorize, are ex officio members of the Management Board.

The Supervisory Board of the Central Bank can appoint one member of the Management Board, and the Minister of Finance of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska each appoint one member of the Management Board. Members of the Management Board who are not ex officio must be individuals who have gained a high reputation as financial and banking experts and possess high moral qualities for performing their entrusted duties.

The duties of the Management Board are regulated by the Law on Deposit Insurance in Banks of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Deposit Insurance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to contribute to strengthening confidence in the banking system and overall financial stability in the country, which we know is not Milorad Dodik's goal at this moment.

And the whole story began at the 35th extraordinary session of the Presidency of BiH, when, on the initiative of the member of the Presidency of BiH, Denis Bećirović, the new composition of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBiH) was unanimously appointed. The mandate of the outgoing Supervisory Board expired on August 11, 2021.

The new composition of the Supervisory Board includes Prof. Dr. Jasmina Selimović, Prof. Dr. Mirza Kršo, Prof. Dr. Danijela Martinović, Prof. Dr. Darko Tomaš, and Prof. Dr. Radomir Božić.

Bećirović himself was the initiator of the session, and his proposals, Selimović and Kršo, are candidates for the position of Governor of the CB BiH, so one of them could also be appointed to the Management Board of the Deposit Insurance Agency.

However, by appointing individuals in conflict of interest (Jasmina Selimović on the Supervisory Board of Raiffeisen bank), as well as the fact that politically suitable individuals were appointed (Kršo is an advisor to Bećirović, and Tomaš is the mayor of Prnjavor (SNSD)), the Presidency of BiH has shown that laws and rules are no longer important, but only agreements that can weaken the Central Bank and endanger the financial stability of the country.