Montenegrin Delegation Continues Meetings in Marrakech

13/10/2023

During the second day of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) Annual Meetings in Marrakech, the Montenegrin delegation led by the CBCG Governor Radoje Žugić and the Minister of Finance Aleksandar Damjanović met with Bo Li, the Deputy Director General of the IMF.

Presenting the situation in Montenegro’s banking sector, Governor Žugić pointed out that the banks are stable, highly liquid and adequately capitalised. “As key banking categories, assets, loans, deposits and capital record high annual growth rates, with a NPL decrease”. To mitigate the risks arising from unfavourable interest rate trends and improve supervision in this area, Governor Žugić requested technical assistance from the IMF in implementing the European Banking Authority (EBA) Guidelines for interest rate risk in the banking book (IRRBB).

Regarding the latest macroeconomic and fiscal developments, Minister Damjanović pointed out that the national debt trended down at the end of September, reaching below 60% of GDP in net amount. He also noted that during the current year, Montenegro borrowed only 100 million euros from the approved 600 million euros enabled by the Parliament Decision.

Later that day, Governor Žugić and Minister Damjanović participated in a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Belgian-Dutch Constituency, where they discussed the global economic situation and the world economy’s challenges. The meeting participants agreed that still high inflation and strong fiscal pressures require a systemic approach to creating and managing monetary and fiscal policies, whose primary goals are the preservation of price stability and the sustainability of public finances. Stable and healthy public finances are crucial to providing the necessary fiscal space for solving future challenges, was the message of the Constituency meeting.