If the currency board arrangement is compromised, the IMF will not provide financial assistance to BiH

(Patria) - Andrew Jewell, the resident representative of the International Monetary Fund in Bosnia and Herzegovina, says that the IMF wants to express its solidarity with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina in these difficult times.

"We are working as quickly as possible to provide assistance under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI). Currently, we expect to disburse around 165 million Euros in the second half of April to help authorities increase healthcare spending and finance economic stabilization measures. There is also a possibility that the final disbursement could be higher than 165 million Euros if the IMF Executive Board decides to increase the borrowing limit under the RFI."

In this time of uncertainty, the CBBH currency board represents a pillar of stability. The currency board has served Bosnia and Herzegovina well for over two decades, contributing to a low inflation rate, financial stability, and confidence in the currency. Any attempt to use the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank for fiscal purposes would undermine the currency board, pose a threat to financial stability, and risk significant inflationary movements. In other words, this would mean that, in addition to the economic and humanitarian crisis that BiH is currently facing, we would also have a financial crisis and a currency crisis."

For this reason, if the currency board arrangement is compromised, the IMF will not provide financial assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Rapid Financing Instrument," said Jewell.