Meeting with the World Bank team

03/10/2019

The Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, Mr. Radoje Žugić, and his team met today with the Country Director for the Western Balkans Region of the World Bank, Ms. Linda Van Gelder, and the World Bank Country Manager for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, Mr. Emanuel Salinas. 

The Governor presented the current macroeconomic environment and discussed the situation in the banking sector. As per official MONSTAT data, Montenegro’s economy experienced a growth of 5.1% in 2018. The Governor pointed out that the growth was driven mainly by strong investment activity and favourable trends in tourism, energy, and construction. The CBCG projections indicate that in the in 2019, the growth would amount to some 3%. 

“All key indicators of banking business are distinctive for positive trends, which directly contributes to the strengthening of the banking sector`s resilience”, said the Governor Žugić, adding that the trend of deposit and lending growth continued in 2019, while, on the other hand, the level of NPLs and interest rates continued trending downward. 

The Governor informed the counterparts about the CBCG’s intensified activities aimed at aligning the national regulations with the EU directives, strengthening the supervisory function, and reinforcing the AML capacities, as well as about the activities taken in regard of the payment system modernisation. A particularly important project relates to the implementation of the asset quality review (AQR) of the banking sector in Montenegro, which is planned for the next year. 

The Country Director, Ms. Van Gelder, commended the goals and priorities set by the CBCG, pointing out that their accomplishment will contribute to the further strengthening of the financial sector stability. 

The World Bank representatives expressed the willingness to continue extending their support to future activities of the CBCG involving a further strengthening of the banking sector soundness in the context of the ongoing collaboration on the Policy-Based Guarantee Program.