Governor Žugić at the Central Banks Governor's Club Meeting
26/03/2019
The Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, Radoje Žugić, participates at the 41st meeting of the Central Banks Governors’ Club of Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries, taking place from 24 to 26 March in Istanbul, Turkey.
The meeting focused on the global economic and financial prospects of the countries of the region, with potential external risks and challenges, as well as the mechanisms for their overcoming. It is estimated that, despite rising populism and protectionism, there are external challenges, which are related to the slowdown in global growth (especially in the most developed economies), the tightening of relations in foreign trade, the uncertainty caused by finding solutions to the BREXIT and so on.
In order to manage these risks in an adequate manner, which may have a negative impact on financial institutions and the financial market, and therefore on financial stability as well, it is necessary to ensure the independence of central banks. It was estimated at the meeting that the independent central bank enables the use of available monetary instruments in an efficient manner.
In his presentation, the Governor Žugić emphasized that progress was made in the area of minimizing systemic risks. "The banking sector in Montenegro is recording a continuous decline in interest rates and the level of non-performing loans," the CBCG Governor said, adding that Montenegro is continuously working to reduce internal risks, while external risks have a special impact on small and consequently more open economies such as the Montenegrin.
The Central Banks Governor`s Club of Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan countries gathers twice a year governors and other senior officials from the monetary policy and finance with the aim of exchanging views on current issues and further improvement of mutual cooperation. Membership in this prestigious organization enables the CBCG to further strengthen regional cooperation in the monetary, financial and banking sectors and establish closer relations with central banks from the region.