Meeting with the World Bank's Country Manager for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro

07/04/2022

Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) Radoje Žugić and his team held a meeting today with the World Bank’s Country Manager for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, Christopher Sheldon.

At the meeting, they discussed current Montenegro’s economic developments and the impact of the war in Ukraine. It was stated that the banking sector covering over 90 percent of Montenegro's financial system was stable, and the banks' key operating ratios recorded positive trends.

“Aware of uncertainty amid the current geopolitical event and still uncertain COVID-19 pandemic ending, the CBCG has been closely monitoring the situation to apply adequate macroprudential measures if needed”, said Governor Žugić.

The Governor thanked Mr Sheldon for the World Bank’s technical assistance provided to the CBCG on payment system modernisation through supporting the drafting of technical specification for the instant payments system and national QR code standardisation. It was stated that the CBCG fully supports the payment systems modernisation project for the Western Balkan countries' implemented through the assistance of the World Bank, the European Commission, and the Regional Cooperation Council. The project will significantly improve the participating countries' international payment system efficiency, further strengthen their cyber security and decrease remittances costs.

Mr Sheldon pointed out the World Bank's commitment to continued cooperation with Montenegro. He noted that future support would be defined through the new World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework for Montenegro for the upcoming five years period that is under the preparation. According to Mr. Sheldon, this framework will focus on two main objectives – increasing economic resilience for sustainable growth and improving environmental sustainability and resilience.