English
Macedonian Central Bank Governor Trajko Slaveski clarified his comments about the media’s role in the collapse of the Serbian Alta Bank, which recently expanded into Macedonia by taking over Stopanska Bank Bitola.
During my appearance on the show “Top Tema” on Telma TV last Monday, I expressed a view regarding one of the possible reasons for the rapid collapse of Alta Banka in Belgrade. I mentioned that “the media brought down the bank…”—referring to the multitude of speculations and unverified information circulating within the Serbian media landscape in the days leading up to the National Bank of Serbia’s (NBS) decision to revoke the bank’s operating license. It has come to my attention that some believe I was pointing the finger at domestic media. I wish to clarify that, in that part of the show, I was discussing events concerning “Alta Banka” in Serbia and reports in the Serbian media regarding the outflow of funds from that bank. At no point was I referring to “Alta Banka” AD Bitola, nor did I intend to call into question the professionalism of the Macedonian media. That was the intended meaning of my response, said Governor Trajko Slaveski.
Slaveski added that the press conferences conducted by the opposition SDSM party contributed to a sense of distrust and added pressure—a context in which the protective measure limiting withdrawals to 10,000 denars per week was introduced. “It would be particularly distressing to me if my statement were misinterpreted by journalists—members of a profession whose work I hold in high regard and whose writing I read regularly. If my choice of words—however unintentionally—caused offense to anyone in the journalistic community, I offer my sincere apologies. That was certainly not my intention”, added Slaveski.