Financing Regional Development Through Development Banks
A combination of various sources of financing is a necessary prerequisite to finance any development as well as regional development. Sources of financing can be monitored and evaluated from the aspects of suitability (cost aspect), availability and abundance. Ultimate users of funds give advantage to financial sources whose availability and abundance is at the maximum level, and costs are at their minimum. For the most part, development bank funds meet the above mentioned requirements, since the main function of these banks is to finance certain activities under special (more favourable) conditions. The significance, justification and evaluation of this form of financial resources in the regional development segment are becoming more and more prominent. The subject of this paper is the amount and conditions of development bank loans in the area of Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Srijem Counties.
Models of Including Financially Inactive Population into the Financial System
Raising money and directing it into savings is the most important passive task in banking. Restrictive monetary policy makes it increasingly difficult for banking institutions to take loans, thus they turn to the general population as a money source. Their interest is partly served through inclusion of financially inactive population. As the new legislation will correct the current illogical situation (some deposit institutions have not been under control of the central bank), this will eliminate the unfair competition which is at the moment existing in the banking system. At the same time, the operation of a new form of non-profit deposit institutions, i.e. credit unions, will be regulated. With solidarity and common interest as the basic tenets of their operation they can be attractive to this particular segment of population. The paper explores and proposes some possible models and ways of including the financially inferior population into the financial system.
Potentials of Osijek as a Centre of Cultural Tourism
Cultural tourism is becoming the leading trend in the world tourism. Ever growing number of travellers put all of their free time and available resources in visiting and exploring of cultural sights. Sites of rich history and preserved tradition take precedence over usual summer arrangements. Active vacation is popular as well as travels that include visits to sights and adoption of cultural patterns of local culture. This ever increasing tourist area and the overall global trend can be also observed in Croatia. The Strategy for development of cultural tourism, which has been in use for several years, recognizes the present issues and shortcomings, and it gives recommendations for their solution. Being a town of rich historical and cultural tradition, Osijek also needs to find its model for development of cultural and tourism potentials.