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09/02/2018

The Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, Mr. Radoje Žugić, held a meeting with the chief executive officers of commercial banks operating in Montenegro.

Discussions on the situation in the banking system and results achieved last year led to a conclusion that all banking system parameters have significantly improved. “Growth in deposits of 13.6% speaks in favour of restored confidence in the banking system”, said the Governor Žugić. Besides deposits, lending activity also rose, by 11.8%, while the share of non-performing loans in total receivables reached the lowest level since the financial crisis outbreak of 7.29%. Effective interest rates continued trending downward, hitting an all-time low of 6.81%. The Governor Žugić added that the CBCG encourages banks to support economic growth of the country more strongly by supporting the valorisation of potential of our economy and the expansion of the economic base.

Discussions continued with proposals for further improvement of safety and soundness of the banking system. To that end and due to significant positive effects of the implementation of the Law amending the Law on Voluntary Financial Restructuring of Debts towards Financial Institutions, it was agreed that the validity of the law should be extended for another year.

The conclusion of today`s meeting is that regular meetings and open discussions on all current developments in the financial market are a practice that contributes to a closer cooperation and, consequently, better functioning of the overall system.