Hanfa and Ministry of Finance hold the first Quarterly Capital Markets Consultation of the year
The quarterly consultations are a good practice of exchanging views between regulators and representatives of the financial industry, and will continue this year. On 10 March 2026, representatives of the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Authority (Hanfa) and the Ministry of Finance held the first consultation of the year, with organisational support by the Croatian Chamber of Economy.
The consultation began with an opening address by Vanja Dominović, Head of the Financial Institutions and Insurance Companies Division at the Croatian Chamber of Economy. Anamarija Staničić, Deputy President of the Hanfa Board, addressed the attendees, emphasising the importance of the quarterly consultations as an important forum for an open exchange of views between the Ministry of Finance, the regulator and market participants. "We are grateful to the capital market stakeholders for their active participation and constructive comments, especially in the context of current regulatory topics such as the SFDR, the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle, and anti-money laundering obligations. Given the frequent changes to the EU legislative framework, it is important for us to receive timely feedback from the domestic industry to ensure an effective and proportionate application of regulations in the national context," said Staničić.
Ivana Žepić, Head of the Financial Markets and Financial Literacy Sector at the Ministry of Finance, emphasised: "These meetings provide an opportunity to exchange experiences, identify challenges in practice and consider possible directions for the further improvement of the regulatory and market environment. The Ministry remains open to constructive proposals from the industry and to continuing cooperation with all market stakeholders."
Josipa Žilić, a Supervision and Analysis Specialist and Team Coordinator at Hanfa’s Funds and Investment Firms Supervision Division, explained the proposed SFDR amendments, with a particular emphasis on the introduction of new financial product categories based on their sustainability level. She also presented the preliminary position of the Republic of Croatia, including the joint comments and positions of Hanfa and the Ministry of Finance, prepared for the purposes of further negotiations at the level of the Council of the EU. Supervised entities were invited to submit their views on the proposed SFDR amendments.
Ivana Tomašić, Chief Advisor at Hanfa's Capital Market Supervision Division, presented the European Commission's initiative to shorten the settlement cycle from T+2 to T+1. She spoke about the recently published EU T+1 Securities Settlement Handbook, and about the results of the EU T+1 Industry Committee Readiness Survey, conducted at the end of last year, and announced other activities at EU level.
Valerija Bezak Kecerin, Head of the Operational and Legal Affairs Department at the Central Depository and Clearing Company (CDCC), presented new functionalities and improvements relating to electronic attendance and voting at general meetings of companies via the CDCC system, while Zoran Vučičević, Head of the Compliance and Internal Control Department at the CDCC, announced the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations at the CDCC from 10 July 2027.
In conclusion, representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Economy announced its upcoming activities significant for the capital market, such as financial literacy activities for secondary school and university students through the “Više znamo, bolje razumijemo” (“The More We Know, The Better We Understand”) project, which will also be carried out during the Global and European Money Week.
Photo: HGK
