Nothing can be hidden forever: The "Trojka" coalition handed over full control of the Deposit Insurance Agency of BiH to Dodik

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

As we announced, the Deposit Insurance Agency of BiH has come under the control of Milorad Dodik. Although it has not been officially announced by the Central Bank of BiH that Dragan Kulina has been appointed a member of the Management Board, his name has been published on the official website of the Agency.

Namely, 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 also includes the finance ministers of the entities and the state of BiH, and one member appointed by the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of BiH.

During the tenure of Senad Softić, the former Governor of the Central Bank, one member was missing for three years because there was no agreement on who should hold the position, or rather, there was no consensus that it should be someone from the Bosniak community, so it was never appointed.

However, the state-level coalition (SNSD, HDZ, and the "Trojka" parties have apparently reached an agreement that this position of Management Board member representing the Central Bank of BiH should go to someone from the Serb people. And that person is Dragan Kulina, who was appointed after Jasmina Selimović was appointed Governor.

For months, Patria has been awaiting a response to an inquiry sent immediately after Selimović's appointment, in which we requested the name of the person appointed to the Management Board of the Deposit Agency, specifically clarification on whether the appointment of Kulina was a condition for Selimović's appointment.

Therefore, out of five members of the Management Board, as many as three are from the Serb people, which means complete control over this important Agency.

Besides Jasmina Selimović, Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are also Srđan Amidžić, Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zora Vidović, Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska, and Toni Kraljević, Minister of Finance of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Dragan Kulina.

Kulina's name appeared on the Agency's website

In practice, Milorad Dodik has taken control of the Deposit Insurance Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Incidentally, the Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or their authorized representatives, are ex officio members of the Management Board.

The Supervisory Board of the Central Bank can appoint one member to 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 to 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.