Establishment of the Association of Banks
The founding session of the Association’s Assembly was held on 4 December 1921, in Prometna Banka in Belgrade. The Association of Banks was established by the 39 “monetary institutes” that operated at that time.
At the Assembly session the Rules of the Association of Banks were adopted, which defined the main mission of the Association: “The mission of the Association is to launch initiatives with the competent authorities in respect of the issues of general importance and common interest for the monetary institutes, to represent the Association of Banks as an entity before the authorities and in various commissions and delegations, to deal with all important issues in the field of economy and finance in its magazine, and to establish common institutions if the need arises, with a view to the best possible protection of its interests. A member of the Association can be every monetary institution…”
Establishment of the Association of Banks
The founding session of the Association’s Assembly was held on 4 December 1921, in Prometna Banka in Belgrade. The Association of Banks was established by the 39 “monetary institutes” that operated at that time.
At the Assembly session the Rules of the Association of Banks were adopted, which defined the main mission of the Association: “The mission of the Association is to launch initiatives with the competent authorities in respect of the issues of general importance and common interest for the monetary institutes, to represent the Association of Banks as an entity before the authorities and in various commissions and delegations, to deal with all important issues in the field of economy and finance in its magazine, and to establish common institutions if the need arises, with a view to the best possible protection of its interests. A member of the Association can be every monetary institution…”
Awards at the Tenth Anniversary of the Association
The tenth anniversary of the Association of Banks was celebrated on 30 November 1930, in the conference room of the Belgrade Stock Exchange. At this event, the Decree was read out whereby HRH King Aleksandar honoured the numerous members of the Board of Directors, Supervisory and Executive Board, including Mr Lujo Mor, Secretary General of the Association of Banks.
In 1932 the number of the Association of Banks’ members hit the record high of 202. In the same year the Association was actively engaged in the preparation of the Law on the Protection of Farmers’ Rights, amendments to the Law on the National Bank of Yugoslavia, Law on the Conversion of Agricultural Debts, etc.
The Report on the Association of Banks’ Operations for 1940 was the last to be considered and adopted at the Assembly session 20 days after the bombing of Belgrade, on 6 April 1941. The activities of the Association of Banks were disrupted by war and years after the war ended, the Association was re-established.
Yugoslav Banking after the Second World War
Following the Second World War the banking sector went through several development stages. The first of those stages, from 1944–1946, is significant because the government at the time launched the formation of the so-called socialist banking, first gaining the control over and then liquidating the private banking system of the former Yugoslavia. The new federal bank was established – the Industrial Bank of Yugoslavia. Other state banks started to be opened, too.
The second stage, which lasted from 1946–1948, was characterised by the banks’ mergers which considerably simplified our banking system. Towards the end of 1947, all banks were merged into the single National Bank and Investment Bank, but apart from those there were also 59 local banks, i.e. municipal savings banks.
The third stage, from 1948–1952, was characterised by the creation of two new types of banks: state banks for crediting agricultural cooperatives, and communal banks. The fourth stage lasted from 1952–1954. The Decree passed in 1952 prescribed the merger of the State Investment Bank of the FNRY and the state banks for the financing of agricultural cooperatives, whereas communal banks were abolished.
In the fifth stage lasting from 1954–1961, the crediting function of the banking system was decentralised and specialised. The new credit organisations were introduced, such as communal banks, city and cooperative savings institutions. The National Bank was again the central bank of the country.
League of Communal and Savings Banks – Forerunner of the Association of Banks
After several symposia in 1955 and 1956, the representatives of communal and savings banks finally reached a decision at the Assembly session in Sarajevo, on 9-10 May 1956, about the establishment of the League of Communal and Savings Banks of the FNRY, the forerunner of the Association of Banks, i.e. the continuation of the Association of Banks from the period between the two wars. On that occasion, they adopted the Statute precisely defining the activities of the League, the rights and duties of its members, as well as the operating organs of the League. In the first years of its operation, this association of monetary institutes and savings organisations was already recognised as a significant institution within the financial sector of the country.
At the Assembly session, held in March 1967, the League of Communal and Savings Banks changed its name into the Association of Yugoslav Banks. Up until 1991, the Association experienced numerous re-establishments and transformations in the spirit of the existing laws and regulations, while preserving, in all these years, its major objective – to promote banking activity and solve the issues of common interest for its members.
Association of Serbian Banks since 2003
Following the democratic elections in 2001, our country commenced its gradual return into the international financial institutions and the preparations for the beginning of structural reforms in the banking sector. With the implementation of the Banking sector restructuring strategy, bankruptcy and liquidation of numerous banks occurred and, in 2002, so did the privatisation of banks.
At the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board session, held on 3 February 2003, a decision was passed on changing the Association of Yugoslav Banks’ name to the Association of Serbian Banks.
The Association of Serbian Banks’ mission and vision, regardless of the substantial changes in financial and banking domains in two different time spans, did not change considerably. Therefore, at the Assembly Session held in 2005, a decision was passed that the date of establishment – 4 December 1921 – was to be proclaimed the Day of the Association of Serbian Banks. This institution with such tradition is now one of the oldest banking associations in Europe.