The third online conference organized by the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce on the topic Government Measures for Businesses: From the point of view of the Banks, was held today, April the 8th at 2pm. The panelists at this conference were: Darko Budec (Founder and President – Buck), Dragoljub Damljanovic (President of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Director of Sales for Smart Grids – Schneider Electric), Marijana Cupara (Head of Digital and Marketing Division – Credit Agricole), Predrag Mihajlovic (CEO at OTP Bank), Zoran Petrovic (CEO at Raiffeisen Bank) and moderator Emmanuel Koenig (member of the board of the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Partner – PricewaterhouseCoopers)
The participants unanimously welcomed the adoption of measures to support the economy, insisting on the establishment of a legal framework as soon as possible.
Dragoljub Damljanovic stated that the government’s measures to assist the economy are of great importance and aim to preserve employment to the fullest extent possible. “What I notice is missing is the speed in implementing these measures in real time, as well as additional regulations in our labor law that would further facilitate business such as current unemployment, part-time employment. This is what could protect employment in the long run, “Damljanovic said. He added that it was up to the businesses to continue to insist that additional measures be implemented as soon as possible.
Marijana Cupara, in front of Credit Agricola Bank in Serbia, stated that the Government and the National Bank were quick to respond to the crisis and that the banks were being given new instructions on a daily basis. “The moratorium is a good measure for heavily affected industries, and it will take some time for all other measures to be implemented. It is important to respond quickly and transparently to the whole situation and to work on the animation of our clients, which is much easier thanks to the digitization of our services and we will strive to get as close as possible to our users and facilitate digital access to services, ”said Cupara.
Darko Budec, front of Buck Lighting, states that the Government’s program of measures is the key to success that needs to be implemented as quickly as possible. “A large part of the program of measures is good and it is a good reaction of the National Bank. But I believe it is necessary to implement additional measures and to join forces to fight for economic recovery and focus first on liquidity. We, like many companies, are facing a decline in demand and uncertainty that is present especially because we do not know how long this will last. This situation, on the other hand, is a good opportunity for some other sectors, such as the medical equipment sector, where demand is high, as well as digitalisation, thanks to which many people work remotely today, very successfully, “said Budec.
The Chairman of the Executive Board of OTP Bank Serbia, Predrag Mihajlovic, believes that it is very important to protect employees and the economy and sees Government measures as a good tool in achieving this goal. He believes that the liquidity of the companies is crucial and that this situation needs to be addressed as soon as possible. “These guarantee schemes are a very important tool in these moments and we will try to protect our clients, but it is important to know that without the support of the state, the bank often cannot help those who are the most vulnerable. I also emphasize the importance of establishing better and more digitized communication with state institutions such as cadaster and others in this situation, “said Mihajlovic.
Zoran Petrovic, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank Serbia, believes it is very important for the Government to implement the measures as soon as possible. The implementation of guarantee schemes is something that has given a lot of headache to much stronger countries such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom. “In addition to helping the economy, it is very important to help the entire society and invest comprehensively in combating unemployment, rather than delivering one-off benefits that are not effective in the fight for economic recovery. Many sectors of activity are affected, such as air transport, the hospitality industry and even the energy sector, and what is most important is that we fight together and insist for additional measures. We must not allow this to grow from a health crisis into a financial crisis, “concluded Petrovic.
The conclusion of the conference is that urgent implementation of measures and constant communication of the economy with the authorities is necessary.
Participants then answered to the questions of participants.