ABOVE:
Volunteer SteveByers, Chief Financial Economist at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission led a training session for 15 participants at the Croatian National Bank's Supervision, Statistics and Research Departments.
Implementer: Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC)
Partners: Croatian National Bank, Ministry of Finance, HANFA, FINA
Financial Sector Supervision
Project completed 2004
Through technical assistance and training, USAID helped increase the safety and soundness of Croatia's financial system.
USAID assisted the Croatian National Bank (CNB) and the newly-established Agency for the Supervision of Financial Services (HANFA) to strengthen the financial sector in order to promote private sector development and investment.
USAID financed technical assistance and training improved the capacity of these institutions to supervise and regulate the financial sector, pursue policies that enable foreign and domestic investment and increase the safety and soundness of the financial system.
Results
USAID assistance to the CNB contributed to the creation of a highly specialized unit to supervise information technology (IT) risk in commercial banks. This unit adopted the U.S. IT examination methodology. Since 2003, all commercial banks in Croatia must undergo mandatory IT examinations. Specialized market risk training allowed the Supervision and Research Departments at the CNB to evaluate and supervise risks posed by derivatives trading in the banking system.
Technical assistance and input was provided to the Ministry of Finance in drafting a New Law on Insurance, adopted in December 2005. This law incorporated EU directives and was aimed at increasing investment and improving competition in a market that was previously under-regulated.
USAID also provided input on a Corporate Governance Code that required listed companies to be more transparent. This enhanced investment opportunities and improved the way companies are managed.
In addition, training conducted by internationally recognized professionals helped create a new unified regulator for non-bank financial supervision. Specifically, the training proposed an optimal organizational structure for the new regulator that assessed current gaps in insurance supervision capacity.
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