FIC & EBRD ORGANIZED SECOND CONFERENCE ON DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES:
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
“FOCUS ON GREEN AND DIGITAL”
FIC Serbia, in cooperation with the EBRD, organized the second Conference on Development of Financial Services: Opportunities and Challenges dedicated to the further development of digitization and green financing to intensify the public and private sector dialogue and present new solutions that can improve the efficiency, but also the security of digital financial services, as well as the necessity of strengthening awareness of the importance of applying the concept of “green financing”, which arose from the growing need to shift the emphasis from profit as the primary, and often the only, goal of investing in goals that include sustainable development, i.e., environmental protection, for the benefit of all interested parties, first of all, the citizens of the Republic of Serbia.
The Conference was opened in the presence of numerous dignitaries, with introductory speeches by members of the FIC’s Board of Directors, Mr. Zoran Petrović, President of the Executive Board of Raiffeisen Bank of Serbia, and Mr. Matteo Colangeli, Director of the EBRD for the Western Balkans, and the Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, Ms. Jorgovanka Tabaković.
FIC BoD member and president of the Executive Board of Raiffeisen Bank of Serbia, Mr. Zoran Petrović, at the beginning of the conference, reminded of the critical role of digitization and the implementation of innovative solutions for achieving the most important goals of the legal acquis of the EU in the field of financial services, namely, ensuring financial stability and adequate protection and safety of consumers, investors, and insured persons. Further, the “green financing” concept is becoming more important in the business community under the influence of global trends. “It is to be expected that the mechanisms of control and verification of green projects will become more complicated, as well as the further development of non-financial reporting criteria, which will further emphasize the necessity of constant harmonization of domestic regulations with the EU regulations, the introduction of innovative solutions, but also the need to intensify the intersectoral dialogue as well as to strengthen the cooperation between the public and private sectors” – emphasized Petrović.
In his opening address, the FIC Serbia BoD member and the director of the EBRD for the Western Balkans, Mr. Matteo Colangeli pointed out: “We are pleased to join forces with FIC on this event and honored by the participation of the National Bank of Serbia” adding ”We channel over EUR 300 million every year to the real economy in Serbia through the financial sector and supporting its resilience and stability is a key priority for us. Looking ahead, we are working to roll out new products targeting exactly the two main topics of this conference, green and digital transitions, as well as risk sharing instruments with our partner financial institutions.”
Governor Mrs. Tabaković commenced the Conference by stressing: “The sustainable growth that we have ensured cannot be reached neither by sprint nor marathon, because there are no final victories in our job. Words are the beginning, but only actions and results speak for all of us. In the spirit of the first panel heading – let everyone move from words to deeds. And the way the National Bank of Serbia works will remain the same – deeds!”
FIC members made a significant contribution to the development of the financial services sector in Serbia by initiating numerous innovations and improvements to existing solutions that have already been implemented or are expected to be implemented soon: Introduction of the service of issuing the so-called qualified signature in the cloud, then traffic recording electronically in real-time via the Internet, i.e., online fiscalization and electronic invoicing, and the introduction of the first registered electronic identification scheme, enabling the payment of monthly bills, making purchases in retail stores, and in online stores in a simple way through the national system IPS (Instant Payment System) using a QR code, electronic bills of exchange for legal entities and entrepreneurs, represent exceptional progress made by the competent institutions, especially the NBS, precisely at the time of the pandemic, which will have a lasting positive impact on improving the competitiveness of the Serbian economy.
Moderators of the panels were Dušan Lalić (Generali Osiguranje), co-president, and Jelena Vukić Šuljagić (OTP Banka), vice-president of the FIC Financial Services Committee. Participants of the first panel: “Digital Financial Revolution: Sprint or a Marathon“, were Nenad Petrović, Director General of the Payment System Sector, National Bank of Serbia, Milosav Knežević, Executive Director for Information Technology, Raiffeisen Bank, Periša Puletić, Member of the Executive Board, Yettel Bank, and Milan Dobrijević, State Secretary, Ministry of Information and Telecommunications.
Miloš Lukić, Associate Director, FI Western Balkans and Eastern Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Marija Ugrčić, Director of the Development Department in the Banking Control Sector, National Bank of Serbia, Sandra Dokić, State Secretary, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Aleksandar Zlatković, Special Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Mining and Energy and Danilo Mrvaljević, Co-president of the Financial Services Committee, Bank Intesa shared their expertise on the second panel “Green – are we ready to turn words into action?”.
