Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Best Central Bank Governance CEE 2022 & Outstanding Contribution to Economic Development Bosnia & Herzegovina 2022

Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) has been serving the interests of the country and its citizens over the past 25 years contributing to macroeconomic, monetary and financial stability, providing stability of the domestic currency. More recently, with the commitment of the entire staff led by Governor Senad Softić, Ph.D., it has overcome the pandemic and geopolitical challenges to ensure the stability and convertibility of the domestic currency, keep cash circulating throughout the country and increase foreign exchange reserves. It ended 2021 with the highest foreign exchange reserves ever recorded. New treasury machines aid in checking the authenticity, accuracy and reliability of banknotes.

Transparent communication increases awareness and inspires public trust. During the first year of the pandemic, the CBBH had around 6,000 media releases. It also hosts informal sessions with media professionals and regularly organises financial education and inclusion initiatives. It outlines the benefits of official remittance channels for the BH diaspora, half of which were relying on unofficial channels that were blocked during the pandemic. The CBBH led the reform of the country’s payment transactions system. According to Transparency International’s (CPI), for the year 2022, BH took a low rank in Europe. In such an environment, the CBBH has strengthened and improved the compliance function, established independent channels for anonymous reports of non-conformities and corruption, supporting its integrity. Rating agencies refer to the CBBH as an important economic anchor in the country, with activities and policies that align with global best practices.

The CFl.co judging panel announces CBBH as the award winner in two categories: Best Central Bank Governance (CEE 2022) and Outstanding Contribution to Economic Development (Bosnia & Herzegovina 2022).