ZAGREB, 19 May 2022 - Croatian National Bank (HNB) Governor Boris Vujčić said on Thursday that the introduction of the euro in the country as sole legal tender would strengthen the resilience to crisis, bring about better terms and conditions for borrowing, boost competitiveness and improve cost-efficiency.

The highest share of exchange risk and foreign currency lending risk will be eliminated, and banks will have direct access to the euro-area and the eurosystem's monetary operations, all of which will make their performance easier, Vujčić said at the 25th expert conference on the financial market, organised in Opatija by the Croatian Banking Association (HUB).

He recalled that all the preconditions for the changeover to the euro on 1 January 2023 had been met and that the Council of the EU was expected to make a formal decision on Croatia's admission to the euro area.

Croatia expects the Council to give a nod in July.

The country will start minting euro coins in the second half of 2022.

Vujčić said that all the segments of society would be ready for the euro changeover, and that preparations were proceeding as planned.

The governor is confident that Croatia will meet all the convergence criteria, including price stability, sound public finances, sustainable exchange-rate stability, fiscal criteria and the criterion concerning long-term interest rates.

As for a one-off price rise during the changeover, consumer prices are likely to go up by 0.2 percentage points in the first year of the euro adoption.

For more, check out our politics section.

The Euromoney Excellence Awards are given worldwide to financial institutions and banks that provide their clients with the highest level of service, innovation and expertise. Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ) has taken home the ''Best Bank in Croatia'' award.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 17th of July, 2020, the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2020 were awarded to Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ), a member of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, in the category of the best bank in Croatia, and to Intesa Sanpaolo as the best bank in Italy. As stated, the Euromoney Excellence Awards are given worldwide to financial institutions that provide their clients with the highest level of service, innovation and expertise. A wide range of qualitative and quantitative criteria need to be taken into account for this handing out of these awards and they're considered to be the most prestigious awards in the entire banking industry.

On the occasion of the announcement of this award, Dinko Lucic, President of the Management Board of Privredna banka Zagreb, stated: ''We're extremely proud of [having received] this prestigious international award that has come during these difficult COVID times. I often point this out, but it's true that the real difference is made by people, and the more difficult the situation in the world is, the more important the role of professional, calm and highly educated employees becomes. This award is a confirmation of the continuous commitment and work of our entire Privredna banka Zagreb Group team. I'm proud of all of our employees and on this occasion, I'd like to thank them for their contribution, I'd also like to thank all of our clients for whom we constantly strive to be even better.''

The Euromoney Awards of Excellence were established back in 1992 and were the first of their kind in the whole global banking industry. This year, Euromoney received almost 1,000 applications from banks for a region and country award programme that includes more than fifty regional awards and the award for the best banks in almost 100 countries.

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