At the “Financial Market” scientific-professional conference in Opatija, Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) Board President Ante Žigman presented an assessment of global and domestic market risks and highlighted regulatory initiatives expected to shape the financial landscape, as discussions centred on Croatia’s newly adopted Strategic Framework for Capital Market Development 2025–2030. Žigman argued that global uncertainty is rising, with weak economic fundamentals and high asset valuations increasing the risk of sudden corrections amid subdued risk premiums, and identified the global slowdown and long-term challenges to euro area public finance sustainability as key macroeconomic risks. He described Croatia’s financial sector as resilient despite pressures and volatility, pointing to investors remaining in funds and pension fund portfolio diversification as mitigating factors, while warning that stronger cross-market correlations are raising systemic risks in 2025. On regulation, he pointed to the Omnibus Package to simplify sustainability reporting by amending the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and EU Taxonomy, and referenced the Savings and Investments Union Strategy adopted in March 2025 to better connect citizens’ savings and investments and deepen EU capital market integration. A panel moderated by Hanfa Board member Anamarija Staničić brought together public and private stakeholders who welcomed both the strategy and its action plan, highlighting the action plan’s concrete timeline and allocation of responsibilities as a basis for moving from strategy to implementation, with discussions ranging from regional stock exchange integration and e-voting for shareholder engagement to investment tax treatment and the positioning of Croatia as a potential European ETF hub.

Original source View in tracker