Bosnia’s fragile public finances are on the edge of collapse with financial support from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, blocked since last September, indebted pension funds in both entities and a growing budget deficit on all administrative levels.

In short, all budgets are running out of the money to cover salaries, pensions, social benefits and other expenses.

According to several different officials, governments in both of Bosnia's entities, the Federation and Republika Srpska, are desperately seeking alternative financial sources.

Without new outside financing, the Bosnian state, the two entities, the Federation’s ten cantons and most of the municipalities will run out of cash by the end of this year.

This problem has been building for years, as reckless and self-centred politicians maintained high public spending and kept financing it with IMF and the World Bank money, ignoring the question of how they would repay the loans.