Seven Central European stock exchanges and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed an agreement in Bratislava to jointly develop the region’s capital markets. The Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) announced the partnership, highlighting its potential to strengthen financial ecosystems across the participating countries.
Participating stock exchanges include Hungary’s Budapest Stock Exchange, Slovakia’s Bratislava Stock Exchange, Romania’s Bucharest Stock Exchange, Bulgaria’s Bulgarian Stock Exchange, Slovenia’s Ljubljana Stock Exchange, Poland’s Warsaw Stock Exchange, and Croatia’s Zagreb Stock Exchange
The memorandum of understanding outlines key areas of collaboration, including the expansion of primary markets, the development of frameworks to support long-term retail savings, and the promotion of retail investor participation. Other focus areas include leveraging new technologies, improving the efficiency of capital market infrastructure, and sharing best practices.
The agreement emphasizes that regional cooperation offers an effective way to tackle shared challenges, enabling a more efficient use of resources and fostering integration of regional capital markets through cross-border business flows. The EBRD reaffirmed its commitment to developing local capital markets and nurturing regional ecosystems to encourage growth and innovation.
This partnership reflects a collective ambition to build a stronger, interconnected financial network across Central Europe, setting the stage for a more unified and resilient economic future.