The General Assembly of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), meeting in Dubrovnik, discussed regulatory measures to facilitate the recovery of the European economy.
The meeting was chaired by Anton Kovacev, president of the Managing Board of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) and current president of the EAPB, said the HBOR, a member of the EAPB since 2007. Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Neven Mimica attended the last day of the meeting on Tuesday.
The meeting focused on the EAPB's activities last year, a budget for 2013, and the business plans and activities of the EAPB members in the coming term. Under discussion was a new financial perspective, notably regulations relating to public procurement, bank supervision, capital markets, small and medium enterprises, and programmes designed for such enterprises.
In order to ensure a faster economic recovery, it is important to allow long-term investment through specific models of public banks with the possibility of using the benefits of various funds. The financial crisis has shown that the supervision rules must be examined in detail so that unnecessary restrictions would not jeopardise the economic recovery, the HBOR said in a statement.
The EAPB was established in 2000 with the aim of representing the interests of state-owned banks, development banks and agencies in relation to EU legislation and the European Parliament. Since its establishment, the EAPB has seen the number of its members increase from the initial 10 to more than 100.
