Skopje, 7 December 2023 (MIA) - National Bank Governor Anita Angelovska-Bezhoska said Macedonian banks, well-capitalized and liquid, faced several crises in the past period, and their resilience to the crisis has been enabled due to their strengthened balance sheets even in the pre-pandemic period.

"The National Bank continues to strengthen the resilience of the banking system in the post-pandemic crisis period, introducing macroprudential measures. Despite the great caution and monetary tightening, the banking sector has been providing solid credit support to both companies and households, with a growth of around 10 percent last year and 6 percent this year," the Governor said, addressing the 2023 Bankers Summit, hosted by the Association of Serbian Banks in Belgrade. 

Speaking at a panel discussion on the current developments and challenges of the banking sector from the perspective of regulators, Governor Angelovska-Bezhoska pointed out that if the tightening of the monetary policy is fast, aggressive and follows a long period of loose monetary policy, and if macroprudential and supervisory regulation is weaker, there can be a significant impact on the stability of the banking sector.

Therefore, she added, despite the fact that the domestic banking sector entered the crisis period strong, the National Bank is still cautious and strengthens the system's resilience through macroprudential measures.

Commenting on the medium-term and long-term challenges for the banking sector, Angelovska-Bezhoska noted that in addition to geo-economic fragmentation, climate change is still a significant risk. When it comes to the Macedonian banking sector, more than half of the banks' total credit exposure to companies is to sectors that are sensitive to climate policies, the National Bank said in a press release.

Hence, the central bank undertakes several activities to deal with the risks of climate change, including the adoption of a medium-term plan of activities, as well as the adoption of guidelines for banks to include climate risks in their risk management framework. In addition, in the past four years, green loans have more than doubled in the total credit portfolio of banks.

National Bank of Serbia Governor, Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Vice Governor at the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chairman at the Securities Commission of the Republic of Serbia, and the Supervision Director at the Central Bank of Montenegro also participated in the panel discussion.  

Photo: National Bank