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Annual Report for 2004.Indd PUBLISHED BY: Central Bank of Montenegro Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog 6 81000 Podgorica Telephone: +381 81 664 997, 664 269 Fax: +381 81 664 576 WEBSITE: http:/www.cb-cg.org CENTRAL BANK COUNCIL: Ljubiša Krgović, MS, president Milojica Dakić, MS Krunislav Vukčević Goran Knežević, MS Petar Drakić Radmila Savićević TRANSLATED BY: Lidija Ćirović Popadić DESIGNED BY: Andrijana Vujović PRINTED BY: Grafo Crna Gora The Report is published annually. Users of this publication are requested to make reference to the source of information whenever they use data from the Report. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BIS Bank for International Settlements BPK/BAK Banking and Payment Authority of Kosovo BS Bank of Slovenia BSCEE Group of Banking Supervisors from Central and Eastern Europe CBBiH Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina CBM Central Bank of Montenegro CDA Central Depository Agency CEBIT Annual trade show of information and telecommunication technology EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ECB European Central Bank EIB European Investment Bank EMU European Monetary Union EU European Union EUR Euro EURIBOR Euro Interbank Offered Rate FDI Foreign Direct Investments FED Federal Reserve System HNB Croatian National Bank IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development IDA International Development Association IDF Institutional Development Fund IFC International Finance Corporation IMF International Monetary Fund IMF International Monetary Fund IS-CB Information System of the Central Bank of Montenegro KFW Kreditanstait fur Wiederaufbau LIBOR London Interbank Offered Rate MFI Micro-credit Financial Institution MIGA Multilateral Investment Agency MONSTAT Statistical Office of Montenegro n/a not available NBM National Bank of Macedonia NBS National Bank of Serbia RIA Regulatory Impact Assessment RIR Register of account owners RM Republic of Montenegro SCG Serbia and Montenegro SDR Special Drawing Rights SITC Standard International Trade Classification UCD Unique Customs Declaration USD US Dollar VAT Value added tax WTO World Trade Organisation FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE CBM COUNCIL ...................................................... vi ACTIVITIES OF THE CBM COUNCIL IN 2004 .............................................................................. ix 1. MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT IN MONTENEGRO IN 2004 ......................................11 1.1. Review of Macroeconomic Developments ..............................................................................13 1.2. Prices ..........................................................................................................................................15 1.3. Monetary Developments ..........................................................................................................20 1.4. Financial Markets .....................................................................................................................26 1.5. Fiscal Policy ...............................................................................................................................29 1.6. Public Debt ................................................................................................................................32 1.7. External Developments .............................................................................................................36 2. THE BANKING SYSTEM ..............................................................................................................47 2.1. Structure of the Banking System in Montenegro .................................................................49 2.2. Banks’ Performance in 2004 ..................................................................................................51 3. BANKING SECTOR SUPERVISION AND REGULATION .........................................................67 3.1. Regulatory and Supervisory Developments ..........................................................................69 3.2. Assessment of Compliance with Basel Core Principles .......................................................71 3.3. Risk Exposure of Banking System .........................................................................................74 CONTENTS 4. PAYMENT SYSTEM .......................................................................................................................85 4.1. Payment System Reform .........................................................................................................87 5. BANKING AND FINANCIAL OPERATIONS ..............................................................................91 5.1. Foreign Exchange Reserve Management ....................................................................................93 5.2. International Payment Operations ..............................................................................................96 5.3. Fiscal Agent and Advisor .............................................................................................................97 6. MACROECONOMIC ANALYSES AND RESEARCH ..................................................................103 6.1. Improvements in Statistics ..........................................................................................................105 6.2. Reporting on Macroeconomic Developments ...........................................................................106 6.3. Projects .........................................................................................................................................106 6.4. Preparation of Laws and Enabling Regulations ........................................................................107 7. OTHER IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTRAL BANK IN 2004 ..............................109 7.1. International Cooperation ..........................................................................................................111 7.2. Vault ..............................................................................................................................................114 7.3. Internal Audit ...............................................................................................................................114 7.4. Information Technology Support ................................................................................................115 7.5. Human Resources Management .................................................................................................116 7.6. Public Relations ............................................................................................................................117 ANNEXES ...........................................................................................................................................119 CENTRAL BANK OF MONTENEGRO ANNUAL REPORT 2004 FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF MONTENEGRO The year 2004 can be categorized as a successful year in which macroeconomic stability was maintained, economic growth was accelerated, and the reform processes of the Montenegrin economy continued. The inflation downtrend continued, relatively high economic growth was achieved, the unemployment rate fell, the highest industrial growth in the region was achieved, the number of tourists significantly increased, and almost all monetary and financialaggregatesimproved.Thesuccessoftheimplementedreformsinthebanking system is definitely confirmed by the regained credibility of the system, something which had been lost during the 1990’s. A favourable credit rating assigned to Montenegro by the international rating agency Standard & Poor’s is also confirmation that the reforms are moving in the right direction, proving that Montenegro does not belong to the category of highly indebted countries. This rating improves Montenegro’s position in the international capital market, and shall bring about a higher inflow of foreign direct investments. The reform process in the banking sector continued in the reporting year. With regard to the payment system, new regulations governing the domestic payment system were enacted, IT hardware and software requirements were met thus creating both normative and technical grounds for the successful transfer of payment operations to banks at the beginning of 2005. The bank supervision overall level of compliance with the Basel Core Principles was improved. Theregulationsgoverningthemanagingofoperativeriskandmarket risk in banks and country risk rounded off the legal requirements with regard to the risk management in banks. Operative activities on the closing of the Government’s deposit accounts with commercial banks and the transfer of those funds to the all-in-one account with the Central Bank were performed in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance. Theresultoftheseisasoundandliquidbanking-financialsystemwhichcanbeconfirmedby theimprovement in almost all monetary indicators - loans granted, savings by private citizens, banks’ total assets, and deposits in which term deposits made up more than half. In addition, banks opened eighteen new branch offices. The Central Bank established correspondent relations with eight foreign commercial banks where it held its foreign exchange funds and through which international payment operations were performed. According to reputable agencies, credit ratings of the aforementioned banks fall into the highest credit rating category. vi FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE CBM COUNCIL As the fiscalagentoftheGovernmenttheCentralBankofMontenegroorganisedthirty-eightT-Billsauctions,
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