Montenegro’s Financial Stability Council, chaired by Central Bank of Montenegro Governor Irena Radović, adopted a Financial Sector Roadmap towards Sustainable Finance intended to embed Environmental, Social, and Governance principles in financial decision-making and align the financial system with European and global sustainable development standards. The roadmap focuses on strengthening institutional capacity, intensifying cross-sector cooperation, establishing an enabling environment for managing climate and nature-related risks, and promoting ESG practices. The Financial Stability Council will oversee implementation with participation from the Central Bank of Montenegro, the Capital Market Authority, the Insurance Supervisory Agency, the Ministry of Finance, and financial-sector participants including banks, insurers, and investment funds. The Council also reviewed financial stability information for Q4 2024 reporting preliminary 2024 economic growth of 3%, a slight decline in tourism indicators, relatively stable public finances with reduced public debt versus GDP, and a banking sector described as stable, liquid, and solvent with continued deposit growth; systemic risk exposure was assessed as moderate with some cyclical risks. Separately, the Central Bank reported that, with World Bank support, it has formed a working group to draft legal amendments to introduce electronic bills of exchange as part of payment system modernisation and alignment with international standards.

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