SRDIĆ: BAM 11 BILLION TURNOVER AND NEARLY ONE MILLION TRANSACTIONS OVER 25 YEARS

BANJA LUKA, MAY 28 /SRNA/ – Over the past 25 years, the Banja Luka Stock Exchange has achieved a turnover of around BAM 11 billion through nearly one million transactions, demonstrating the reliability and efficiency of the system, said the director of the financial institution Boris Srdić.

Srdić stated that in its 25 years of operation, the system has never experienced any functional problems, and emphasized that the next step is to build an investment culture and knowledge that will give a more significant role to the capital market in the future. "The event gathered around 300 participants from all major financial institutions in the country and the region," Srdić told the press at the international conference marking 25 years of the Banja Luka Stock Exchange and capital market development in Republika Srpska. He noted that the Stock Exchange is aware of the challenges it faces, but that issues such as low liquidity and insufficient market supply are common to all regional exchanges, and will be openly discussed at the conference. "There is significant potential, given the amount of deposits in banks in BiH and the region. We must strengthen financial literacy, increase the number of instruments, and bring them closer to citizens and businesses so that turnover on the stock exchange increases significantly and the capital market becomes a resource for developing economic and financial flows in the country," Srdić said. Chairman of the Republika Srpska Securities Commission Ognjen Mihajlović stated that the achieved stability is also an obligation for the regulator to insist on legality. "After 25 years of work, we can conclude that the capital market of Republika Srpska is independent and autonomous. This is an obligation for us to continue developing it based on knowledge and legality. As a regulator, we insist on that," Mihajlović said. Director of the Belgrade Stock Exchange Lazo Ostojić pointed out that the fragmentation of regional stock markets is the main obstacle to more serious development, and that the solution lies in joint action. "All stock exchanges in the region have great potential, but the markets are small, which is why we need integration," Ostojić said. Member of the Management Board of the Zagreb Stock Exchange Tomislav Gračan said that BiH and Republika Srpska have many companies with potential to be listed on the stock exchange, but that owners must recognize this opportunity, and appropriate regulations must exist. "Existing regulations can be improved to ensure greater transparency and protection of small shareholders, which is key for better and faster capital development," Gračan explained, adding that local markets must align with European standards, something Zagreb has already done. The conference is being held at the Banski Dvor Cultural Centre in Banja Luka, marking 25 years of successful operation of the Banja Luka Stock Exchange, which has become a key segment of Republika Srpska’s financial market over the past two and a half decades. The event gathered leading representatives of the regional financial and economic sectors. The conference was also attended by Republika Srpska Minister of Finance Zora Vidović, as well as directors of stock exchanges from Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, and North Macedonia.