Decisions adopted by the Governing Board on 6 May 2008

1. The Council of the Bank of Slovenia familiarized itself with current economic and financial developments and foreign economic relations. In April the year-on-year inflation measured by HIPC decreased by 0.4 percentage points and reached 6.2%. There was another increase in core inflation measured by the price index excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, which now amounts to 4.5%. With worsened conditions in the international environment and worsening competitiveness indicators, industrial production activity in the beginning of the year is low, while the trend of increasing stocks continues. The deficit of the current portion of the balance of payments continued to increase, bringing it to nearly EUR 1.9 billion at the end of February, which is 5.5% of the estimated GDP.
   
2. The Council of the Bank of Slovenia reviewed the report of the Slovenian Housing Fund on the implementation of the National Housing Savings Scheme. It shall inform the Government of the Republic of Slovenia of this, pursuant to the law.
   
3. The Council of the Bank of Slovenia acquainted itself with the current business activities of banks and developments on capital markets. In March 2008 the credit activity of Slovenian banks, normally high, decreased for the second consecutive month. The increase in short-term loans overtook the increase in long-term loans in March. At the same time, the share of newly approved loans denominated in foreign currencies decreased.
   
4. The Council of the Bank of Slovenia adopted a resolution on the fees for services rendered by the Bank of Slovenia to banks in the department of inter-bank payment transactions. These changes relate to the implementation of a single pricing policy in the Target2 area, in line with the ECB guideline.