Zagreb - The parliamentary Finance and State Budget Committee on Friday endorsed Ante Žigman, the sole candidate for Governor of the Croatian National Bank (HNB), who identified price stability and a resilient financial system as his main priorities.
Presenting his candidacy to the committee, Žigman said he viewed the nomination as both an honour and a responsibility.
Parliament appoints the HNB governor for a six-year term following a proposal from the Appointments Committee and a prior opinion from the Finance and State Budget Committee.
Until now serving as the head of the Supervisory Board of the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA), Žigman is the only candidate after being nominated by the HDZ parliamentary group following Boris Vujčić’s appointment as Vice-President of the European Central Bank (ECB).
He said his priorities would be protecting citizens’ living standards through price stability, strengthening the resilience of the financial system, cyber security and payment system security, ensuring sustainable lending, and fostering a stable financial environment that supports investment, productivity and long-term economic growth.
Žigman said inflation had initially been driven by global shocks but had increasingly become rooted in the domestic economy, driven by strong domestic demand, rising service prices and rapid credit growth. He stressed that the HNB must distinguish between external shocks and domestic inflationary pressures, while recognising that a national central bank within the euro area cannot tackle inflation alone.
He said action should be pursued through the ECB by highlighting the challenges faced by smaller economies, and through macroprudential measures aimed at reducing demand-driven inflation. Lending, he added, should be directed more towards productivity and production than consumption.
The HNB must remain an independent institution that acts in citizens’ interests, he said, citing experience gained at the central bank, in banking supervision and as a state secretary at the Finance Ministry.
Asked why he was the best candidate, Žigman said his career had given him experience across all key segments of the financial system.
Committee chairman Boris Lalovac of the SDP and Damir Bakić of We Can! called for greater engagement between the HNB and Parliament, noting that governors had rarely appeared before MPs in recent years. Žigman pledged to attend parliamentary sessions.
On bank profits, he said dividend payments were legitimate in a market economy but that the HNB would act if capital adequacy were threatened.
Regarding the property market, Žigman said a cooling-off period was likely and that housing prices were approaching their peak growth rate. He said macroprudential measures would be used to ease further price pressures and stressed the importance of improving financial literacy so that citizens and businesses recognise alternatives to property investment.
Although the We Can! group acknowledged Žigman’s qualifications, the three opposition committee members abstained while the seven governing coalition members voted in favour.
Parliament is due to debate the nomination next Wednesday and vote on it on Friday.