The Committee on Budget and Transfers approved the CBK Annual Report for 2019

The Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Fehmi Mehmeti, presented the Annual Report of the CBK for 2019 in front of members of the Committee on Budget and Transfers.

Governor Mehmeti informed that in 2019, public debt was 19.7%, while economic growth was 4.9%.

On the other hand, non-performing loans marked the lowest level ever of 2 percent. There were also positive developments in the pension sector, where the return on investment was 8 percent, thus influencing the recovery of the negative return that was recorded in 2018.

Governor Mehmeti, among other things, said that lending remains one of the main factors in economic growth, while asking for the support of the deputies to find a solution to overcome the situation in terms of addressing thousands of cases of the banking sector, which are waiting in the courts.

Also, Governor Mehmeti added that the CBK in 2019 has continued its commitments in advancing its professional capacity, as well as harmonizing the regulatory framework with contemporary international practices and standards.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of the CBK, Mr. Sokol Havolli, informed the Committee that based on the assessments made at the CBK and that they will soon be available to the public, the latest forecast for the economic downturn in Kosovo for this year amounts to -7.2%.

After the presentation of the report, the deputies asked questions about the number of employees, licenses of microfinance institutions, banking supervision and many other issues, which are related to the competencies of the CBK.

The members of this committee provided support to the CBK in implementing some changes such as the Law on Banks, the issue of microfinance institutions, as well as finding a common solution for the green card.

Following the debate, the CBK Annual Report was supported by a majority of the committee and proceeded for review in plenary hearing. Meanwhile the proposal that the Governor of the CBK also report to the plenary session was not supported by the commission.