The Provisional Administrator for Hercegovacka Banka, Toby Robinson, yesterday appealed to public institutions and bodies that hold accounts in Hercegovacka Banka to open new accounts in alternative commercial banks in order to meet their obligations this month. She advises the authorities to take the following steps:

• The authorities of Cantons 2, 6, 7, 8 and 10, as well as municipalities holding accounts with Hercegovacka Banka, must establish new accounts in order to secure tax collection and payments. They are responsible for paying a large number of employees in the public sector, such as civil servants, teachers, health workers and police. Taxes are the most important source of income for the Cantonal and municipal budgets. Taxes are collected on a weekly basis. Therefore, every day of non-action on the side of the Cantonal authorities means loss of revenues, which endangers the payment of public salaries and deprives ordinary citizens of the services they need.
• The Pension and Health Funds need to establish new accounts to secure the collection of contributions, the distribution of pensions and payment of medical costs. If they do not act now, they will leave pensioners and those in need of medical treatment without money.
• Municipalities and institutions such as hospitals and schools that have accounts with the Hercegovacka Banka also need to establish new accounts in order to allow the Cantons to transfer money to them in time.

The Provisional Administrator again stresses that it is of the utmost importance to allow her full and unrestricted access to the bank and all its records. Without such access, she cannot make the bank function again, which would in turn damage the interests of account and share holders, many of them ordinary citizens.