Skopje, 27 June 2024 (MIA) - The National Bank Council has reviewed and adopted the report on risks in the banking sector in the first quarter of 2024. The report says the banking sector has maintained its stability and security in operations with improved solvency, stable liquidity and proper quality of the credit portfolio.

The capital adequacy ratio has reached 18.9 percent, highest since 2006, resulting from the rise of the banks' own assets, mostly due to reinvestment of last year's profits. Higher solvency indicators are also largely impacted by the higher regulatory and supervisory requirements related to the banks' capital, primarily related to the protective layers of capital, the NB Governor's Office said in a press release.

The banks' liquidity has maintained the regular satisfactory levels. The liquidity coverage ratio stands at 279.1%, which is significantly higher than the regulatory minimum (100%) and reaffirms the satisfactory liquidity volume of the Macedonian banking system.

The quality of the banks' credit portfolio was maintained in the first quarter, despite the fact that a portion of the indicators on credit risk exposure have increased. This is owed to the methodological changes that were introduced at the onset of the year and the new decision on the methodology for the credit risk management.

Deposits from non-financial entities have risen by 9.1 percent, with long-term deposits accelerating their annual growth to 28.3 percent, while denar deposits have increased twice as much compared to the foreign currency deposits, reads the press release.

Photo: National Bank of North Macedonia