The deputies of the Kosovo Assembly approved the Annual Report of the Central Bank of Kosovo

The deputies of the Assembly of Kosovo approved the Report of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo for 2019. The voting of the Annual Report comes after its approval in the Committee on Budget and Transfers.

The 2019 report reflects the economic developments, those of the financial sector and the development trends in the country. Among other things, the report reveals that Kosovo’s economy grew by 4.2 percent, which is also the highest in the Western Balkans. This increase was mainly supported by improvements in net exports, where the real growth of exports of goods and services by 10.0 percent and the slowdown in the growth of imports of goods and services to 4.2 percent resulted in the improvement of the trade deficit (goods and services) by 2.4 percent in real terms.

The banking sector continued to increase lending and at the same time maintain high levels of liquidity and capital adequacy during 2019. Non-performing loans marked the lowest level ever recorded in Kosovo at only 2 percent.

The sector of microfinance and non-bank financial institutions has also continued to have a significant impact on lending to households and small businesses.

In this sector, the annual growth of loans was 20.5 percent and the level of non-performing loans was only 2.6 percent.

The pension sector continued to expand the base of contributions collected, while the return on investment in 2019 marked the highest increase, since 2009 to 8.9 percent, recovering the negative return on investment in 2018 of -5.3 percent.

The insurance sector continued to have an improvement that is evidenced by the increasing use of insurance products in our economy.

The reliability of financial services consumers is a prerequisite for a sound financial system.

The CBK remains committed to protecting the rights of consumers and has continued to address this area with high priority, carefully reviewing all consumer complaints and advancing the financial education of the public.

The CBK has a key role in ensuring financial stability and has an impact on key economic development parameters.

To achieve this the CBK with the help of international partners has continued to advance and develop its technical and human capacities, and harmonization of the regulatory framework with the practices and standards of developed countries.

For the CBK, 2019 was special, for the fact that it marked the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the CBK.