Concluding statement of the Mission under Article IV for the year 2022 is presented

07/11/2022

The Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, Fehmi Mehmeti, and the head of the mission of the International Monetary Fund for Kosovo, Gabriel di Bella, have presented the concluding statement of the IMF mission within the framework of Article IV.

Governor Mehmeti has said that CBK has continued to be engaged in carrying out its tasks in maintaining and preserving a stable and continuously growing financial system.

He said that the financial system in Kosovo has continued to be liquid and well capitalized where in all indicators, it has recorded double-digit growth, being one of the important factors in the economic growth and development of the country.

"On 31 August, all the means of the financial system in the country have reached the total value of 9.3 billion euros. Meanwhile, the means of the banking sector have continued the growth trend during 2022, reaching a value of around 6.4 billion euros in August 2022, which represents an annual increase of 11.1 percent. In August 2022, the total value of deposits is worth 5.2 billion euros, which represents an annual increase of 11.8 percent, while the growth of deposits continued during the month of September with a 12.7 percent increase. The banking sector continues to be stable, increasing lending activity and playing a very important role in lending to the country's economy this year as well. The value of the credit portfolio of the banking sector at the end of August 2022 was in the amount of 4.2 billion euros, with an annual increase of 18.6 percent, while the average interest rate for loans was 6.0 percent," the Governor stated.

Furthermore, Governor Mehmeti said that non-performing loans have continued with the downward trend and today the rate of non-performing loans is at the level of 2.1%, which is a significantly better indicator compared to countries in the region or even beyond.

Also, the banking sector continues to be well capitalized and liquid, where the capital adequacy indicator for the banking sector stands at 16.1 percent, which is significantly above the regulatory requirements of 12 percent, while the liquidity indicator is 35.7 percent, similarly, higher than the regulatory requirements of 25 percent.

In front of the media, the Governor also spoke about the insurance sector, which had positive results.

Governor Mehmeti thanked the representatives of the International Monetary Fund for their contribution and continuous support to Kosovo and the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo.

On the other hand, the head of the IMF mission for Kosovo, Gabriel di Bella, has said that the financial sector has withstood the shocks that hit the economy and one of the factors that have influenced were the policies followed by the CBK.

Di Bella added that the independence of the CBK is the cornerstone of Kosovo's economic policies.

In the concluding statement of the Mission within the framework of Article IV for the year 2022, it was requested that the CBK continue to strengthen the monitoring of lending and liquidity of banks and the preservation of the good dynamics of the Financial Sector Stability Review 2019 (FSSR).

The IMF expects real GDP to grow by 3-4 percent in 2023 and inflation to gradually ease, but these forecasts essentially depend on international commodity prices, including energy.