Governor Žugić at a meeting of the ambassadors of the EU member states

16/01/2018

The Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, Radoje Žugić, PhD, participated at the meeting of the ambassadors of the EU member states in Montenegro today at the invitation of the Head of the European Union Delegation to Montenegro, Ambassador Aivo Orav.

The Governor presented the most important macroeconomic figures to the ambassadors and informed them of the situation in the banking sector. "Last year, the banking sector was characterized by positive trends, therefore the business operations of the banks marked the growth of all key balance sheet items - assets, loans and receivables, deposits and capital," the Governor said. On the other hand, the past year was characterized by a further decline in the share of non-performing loans (NPL) in total loans as well as in interest rates. The Governor concluded that the high level of liquidity and solvency of the banking sector, alongside the mentioned tendencies, contributes to its smooth functioning, hence to the preservation and strengthening of financial stability.

Governor Žugić also mentioned the intensive activities that the CBCG conducts in order to strengthen the regulatory framework, aimed at harmonizing national legislation with the EU directives, introducing the best banking practice and strengthening supervisory function. "Improving the regulatory framework will contribute to preserving the sound banking system, but also to more efficient implementation of fiscal consolidation, which CBCG supports and finds necessary" the Governor said.

In the second part of the meeting, ambassadors' questions and discussions resumed on the topics that were covered by the Governor's presentation. 

The Ambassador Orav showed appreciation to the Governor for his presentation and stressed that the Delegation of the European Union to Montenegro will continue to monitor the work and support the Central Bank of Montenegro.