Governor Radović Meets the Ambassador of Türkiye and Zeren Group Representatives
20/12/2023
The CBCG Governor, Ms Irena Radović, PhD, met today with H.E. the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr Bariş Kalkavan, and representatives of the Turkish company Zeren Group - the owner and the CEO of the Holding, Mr Mustafa Yiğit Zeren, president of the Zeren Holding’s banking group, Mrs Yasemin Altunbaş Otluoğlu, and Mr Ismail Erdem Öğüt, the coordinator of the Zeren Group for Montenegro.
At the meeting, they discussed the Zeren Group projects and its interest in investments in Montenegro, focusing on their intention to open a bank in our country.
Governor Radović informed the counterparts about the banking sector’s current situation, noting that it is the financial system’s strongest and soundest part and that the data indicate growth in banking assets of 10.4%, loans of 12% and deposits of 10.6% compared year-on-year.
“The decreasing trend of NPL share in total loans continues, so it stood at 4.82% at the end of this October, i.e. 1.32 percentage points less than in October 2022. This October, the effective lending interest rate amounted to 6.49% or 0.81 percentage points more than in October 2022, showing a multiple lower growth compared to the Euribor growth”, Governor Radović pointed out.
While congratulating Governor Radović on her appointment, H.E. Ambassador Kalkavan announced continued banking cooperation between the Republic of Türkiye and Montenegro. He noted that investments from Türkiye increased by 120 million euros in total investments, with investments by Zeren Group solely accounting for 80 million euros. “We will continue to invest in Montenegro in the coming period”, H.E. Ambassador Kalkavan said.
The CEO of the Zeren Holding, Mustafa Zeren, presented the Zeren Group’s intention to expand its operations in Montenegro to the banking sector.
“We have analysed the market and noticed that the system is good for investment, and we are ready to implement a long-term project,” said Mr Zeren.
Zeren Group is a company that has been successfully operating in Türkiye and six other countries for 50 years, covering eight different sectors (finance, construction, IT, energy, etc.) with annual turnover exceeding five billion euro.