Transparent Pricing In Bosnia and Herzegovina

The microfinance sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina is relatively young, having been introduced in the during the post-war mid-1990s as part of the economic rebuilding process. Most of these microfinance providers that have emerged since the mid 1990s have achieved a strong growth in outreach and profitability, and have attracted a high volume of local and international funding. Institutions currently providing microfinance services include commercial banks, for-profit microcredit companies and non-profit microcredit foundations.

The Regulatory and supervisory framework for microfinance sector in Bosnia is well established and serves as a role model for other countries. Legislation demanding a unified way of calculating and expressing effective interest rate was enacted in 2006 in the Republic of Srpska and in 2007 in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This established clearly the definition, calculation methods, and communication of effective interest rate by microfinance providers operating the in the country.  Legislation enacted in 2010 set requirements for the  handling of customer complaints, including complaint processing time, ways of presenting complaints and record keeping of complaints at the Banking Agency.