Meeting of the Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia

1) The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia adopted the Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Documentation for Demonstrating Fulfilment of the Conditions for Performing the Function of a Member of the Management Board of a Bank or Savings Bank.
2) The Governing Board discussed current economic and financial developments, and approved the publication of the January 2011 Economic and Financial Trends document.
The Governing Board expressed its concern over the rise in inflationary pressures in certain segments in Slovenia that could recently be discerned. Here it notes that a rise in inflation above the level pursued by the ECB as its stabilisation target would sharply reduce the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy over the long term. In the Slovenian economy, which is crucially dependent on foreign trade, economic growth and employment depend directly on efforts to ensure that inflation does not exceed the target for stability in the euro area.
In the Eurosystem national policy must support the ECB’s policy by maintaining price growth in the national environment within the boundaries of the Maastricht criterion. Given the realisation of secondary effects on wage growth, and given the risk of a price-wage spiral, anchoring inflationary expectations requires reconsideration of the national policies that bring the requisite price stability. 
The Governing Board also discussed the November 2010 report on Slovenia’s international economic relations.

3) The Governing Board of the Bank of Slovenia discussed the report on the current operations of banks, including developments on the capital markets and developments in the area of interest rates. 
The preliminary results for 2010 indicate that the banking sector as a whole will have recorded a loss. This is a reflection of risk assuming policies in the past, the global and domestic economic situation, and the financial position of borrowers and the corresponding need for the current creation of impairments. A trend of stabilisation in the amount of lending to non-financial corporations and households can nevertheless be seen.

4) The Governing Board discussed the report on the operations of payment systems for the third quarter of 2010.