Meeting of the CBCG Council
17/03/2025
At today's meeting, the Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro, chaired by Governor Irena Radović, adopted a set of by-laws, which adoption is required by the Law Amending the Law on Resolution of Credit Institutions. Adopting these acts aligns the regulatory framework for the resolution of credit institutions with relevant EU regulations. It provides the prerequisites for the efficient implementation of resolution procedures, improving legal certainty and reducing systemic risks.
To improve the standards of safe and efficient payment transactions in the country and to contribute to the successful implementation of the SEPA project, the Council adopted the Decision on the Establishment of the National Payment Transactions Board. The main task of this inter-institutional body, whose work will be coordinated by the CBCG, is to encourage cooperation between payment system participants, exchange of opinions and harmonisation of activities that contribute to the improvement of payment systems in Montenegro as part of the SEPA area and propose new solutions to achieve a higher level of security and efficiency of payment systems and its further development.
The Council members discussed the Governor's Report on Operations and Implementation of the CBCG Policy for January 2025. The Report stated that the activities of the CBCG during the reporting period were implemented in accordance with the CBCG Policy for 2025. It noted that the banking sector is solvent and liquid, with stable deposit growth and continued intensive lending activity.
According to the banks’ assessment, credit standards and credit conditions1 for households and businesses eased in Q4 2024 compared to the previous quarter, stated the Report on Bank Lending Survey Results for the fourth quarter of 2024, which the Council discussed today. The banks expect that the easing of credit standards and credit conditions for both sectors will continue in the first quarter of 2025, which, in their opinion, will be influenced by increased competition, a favourable economic situation, lower non-payment of receivables and a decrease in interest margins.
The Council discussed and adopted other materials under its competence at today's meeting.
1 Credit standards include criteria for loan approval that define loan type, recognised sectoral or geographic priorities, collateral acceptability, creditworthiness of the debtor, etc., while credit conditions include mandatory elements from the loan agreement, such as loan amount, interest rate, commission and fee costs, required collateral, maturity, etc.