Skopje, 29 August 2023 (MIA) – The Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia, Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, participated in the “Normalising Monetary Policy and Implications for Financial Stability” panel discussion, alongside her Austrian, German and Danish counterparts, at the European Forum “Bold Europe 2023” held in Austria.

The Governor, according to the National Bank, said that historically, the current global monetary setup represents the most synchronized and strongest tightening of monetary policy in the past five decades, with the goal of anchoring inflationary expectations and reducing the rate of inflation.

“However, the higher interest rates can increase credit risk and cause an increase in non-functional loans. This isn’t happening for now, since in Europe they are being maintained at a level below 4 percent, which is significantly lower in comparison to the pre-pandemic period. In our country, the non-functional loans are even lower – 2.8 percent,” noted Angelovska Bezhoska.

Angelovska Bezhoska assessed that as a result of the global regulatory reform, which was implemented by North Macedonia as well, through the numerous measures introduced by the National Bank, the capital and liquid capacity of the banking system to mitigate possible risks has been significantly strengthened.

“Capital adequacy is the highest it’s been in the last decade. Last year, for the first time we implemented a countercyclical capital buffer, while this year we’ve also implemented macroprudential measures aimed at the quality of loan demand,” said Angelovska Bezhoska.

The Governor noted that it is especially important to continue with further strengthening of the macroprudential and microprudential framework, as well as boosting cooperation with the relevant European institutions because the majority of the assets in the banking system are owned by banking groups from the European Union.

The European Forum in Alpbach, Austria, which was first held in 1949, is a space uniting young people from Europe and the world with innovative minds in politics, business, civil society, culture and science in order to encourage ideas for a strong and democratic Europe.

Photo: National Bank of North Macedonia