In the context of a regional visit to International Monetary Fund member countries, Dr Nemat Shafik, Deputy Managing Director of this international financial institution visited Zagreb today.

To get a better insight into the current situation of the economy and the financial system in Croatia, the esteemed guest and her associates took part in a very tight schedule during their one-day working visit to Croatia, holding discussions in the Government of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian National Bank and with the representatives of several major banks, the Croatian Employers' Associations and unions.

During her visit to the CNB, Dr Nemat Shafik met with Governor Vujčić and other members of CNB management and inquired about the condition of the banking system, lending and interest rate policy of banks, banks' liabilities recoverability and relations with foreign parent banks, as well as central bank expectations as regards future developments in these areas and macroeconomic outlooks for 2013.

The Deputy Managing Director also wanted to know what progress has been achieved in terms of Croatia's preparations for accession to the European Union and in particular, what the implications of the new European banking regulation and consolidation of banking supervision within the European Central Bank would be for Croatia.