In an interview, North Macedonia's Ministry of Finance said it is preparing amendments to the Law on Financial Companies to strengthen the regulatory framework for financial companies, increase consumer protection, and improve transparency and stability. The planned changes are intended to tighten supervision and raise operating standards after inspections identified weaknesses and irregularities in parts of the sector. The package would require each financial company to establish mandatory internal bodies, including internal audit, credit risk management and supervisory functions. It would also introduce stricter controls over expansion by requiring prior Ministry of Finance approval for opening new business premises based on defined operating criteria, increase the share capital requirement for financial companies, and abolish cash payments so that loan funds are disbursed exclusively through a bank account. The shift away from cash is intended to improve the traceability of financial flows and reduce the risk of misuse. The minister said the amendments are being prepared for introduction in the coming period. She also linked the changes to inspection findings that exposed ambiguities in the existing rules and, in some cases, led to measures including license revocations, with some procedures having been triggered by citizen reports.

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