Skopje, 3 July 2023 (MIA) – The banking system is stable and is properly managing current challenges, whereas the environment is still uncertain as a result of global factors, accompanied by high, although reduced, inflation rates and tightening of financial conditions, said the National Bank after a Council session dedicated to the risks for the banking sector in the first quarter of 2023.

As of Q1, year-on-year household and corporate deposits have seen an accelerated growth, whereas credit growth has been lower. Deposits have increased to 7.8 percent, while crediting stood at 6.4 percent, said the bank.

Solvency of the banking sector has recorded an improvement, with the capital adequacy rate increasing by 0.3 percent to 18 percent, the highest level over the past 16 years, mostly as a result of reinvestment of last year’s profit.

Liquidity indicators are satisfactory and at a significantly higher level than the regulatory minimum. Stress-test results point to satisfactory resilience of the banking system from the assumed extreme, individual and combined liquidity outflows.

For the purpose of further strengthening of the banking sector, the National Bank Council adopted a macro-prudent measure to increase the rate of the countercyclical capital buffer over the exposure of the domestic banks by 0.25 percent to 1 percent, to be applied as of 1 July 2024. The measure is in line with many EU states, resulting in higher adequacy of bank capital as protection from the possible risks in the surrounding, reads the press release.