Senad Softić: Challenges for central banks in a low interest rate environment

Introductory speech by Mr Senad Softić, Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the CBBH 3rd Research Conference, Sarajewo, 5 November 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear fellow central bankers,

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all at the 3rd research CBBH conference under the title: Challenges for central banks in low interest rate environment.

As you know our first two research conferences were a success and we hope this one will be as well. This conference is taking place in very special circumstances. Unfortunately the impact of Covid-19 pandemic does not allow us to get together, show our hospitality and beautiful town and the country. Let's hope that the next conference will be held in better time. We believe it is important to keep this tradition to promote the dialogue between policy makers and academic community on topics of special relevance for the Central bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This year, our focus is on low interest rate environment, and the challenges it brings for the central banks in macroeconomic terms. The decline in long-term risk free nominal interest rates started in the late 1990s. Short-term nominal interest rates fell sharply after the crisis of 2007/ 2008 and have remained at lower bound ever since.