The National Bank of Moldova published the outcomes of the National Committee for Financial Stability’s first ordinary meeting of 2026, presenting a system-wide assessment of financial-sector risks as at 31 December 2025 and concluding that overall stability has been maintained. The review highlighted that the credit-to-GDP ratio has exceeded its long-term trend for a third consecutive quarter, supporting the National Bank of Moldova’s decision to raise the countercyclical capital buffer by 1.0 percentage point to 1.5%, effective from May 2026. In banking, the risk of excessive credit growth was assessed as moderate as lending continued to expand faster than GDP, while asset quality improved with non-performing loans at 4.1% under national prudential rules and 1.4% under IFRS 9. Liquidity, sectoral concentration and market risks were assessed as low, and risks from systemically important institutions were also assessed as low given compliance with capital and liquidity requirements. In non-bank lending, risks remained low as the total loan portfolio grew by 4.2% and portfolio quality stayed broadly unchanged. In insurance, underwriting risk was assessed as low, liquidity remained above minimum requirements, reinsurance covered around 26.0% of gross written premiums and reinsurers recovered 20.4% of claims, while solvency ratios stood at 165% for general insurance and 604% for life insurance. For capital markets, activity was not seen as creating systemic risk, and the committee discussed progress on launching the International Stock Exchange of Moldova, including work on technical and operational infrastructure. The committee agreed to hold ordinary meetings in 2026 in the second half of the final month of each quarter, and the next ordinary meeting is planned for June 2026.