Meeting of the Financial Stability Council
17/06/2025
Today, the Financial Stability Council (FSC) held its 73rd meeting chaired by Irena Radović, the CBCG Governor and the Council Chairman, and attended by the Council members Novica Vuković, the Minister of Finance, Željko Drinčić, the President of the Capital Market Authority, and Marko Ivanović, the President of the Insurance Supervisory Agency’s Council.
At today’s meeting, the Council discussed the Report on the work of the Financial Stability Council for 2024. It assessed that financial stability was preserved during the previous year, while systemic risks remained mainly moderate despite global geopolitical tensions and challenges from the international environment. The banking sector has shown resilience and stability, supporting the economy’s recovery.
The Council also discussed the Information on Financial Stability for the First Quarter of 2025. Data for the first quarter of the current year indicate lower growth rates in construction and retail trade and a decline in industrial output and transport. In the first three months of this year, tourist arrivals increased by 4.4%, while overnight stays decreased by 9.9%.
At the end of April 2025, total loans amounted to 5.03 billion euros or 15% more than in April 2024. A decrease in non-performing loans (NPLs) and lending interest rates accompanied loan growth. Thus, at the end of April 2025, the share of NPLs in total loans was 2.99%, which is 1.76 percentage points lower compared to the end of April 2024, while the weighted average lending interest rate in the same period fell by 0.27 percentage points and stood at 6.37% at the end of April 2025.
In the insurance sector, during the first four months of 2025, gross invoiced premiums grew by 8.21% compared year-on-year.
The Council assessed that the banking sector’s exposure to systemic risks is still moderate, with an inevitable increase in risks of a cyclical nature, primarily those related to the growth of real estate prices, which have reached historically high values. These risks need to be carefully monitored in the coming period.
To strengthen the digital operational resilience of the financial system in Montenegro and its ability to respond to serious cyber threats, the Council supported the CBCG’s initiative to start harmonising domestic legislation with relevant EU regulations, specifically with the Regulation on the digital operational resilience (DORA). This Regulation lays down uniform requirements concerning the security of network and information systems supporting the business processes of financial entities.