The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) reported on a series of bilateral meetings held by the Montenegrin delegation at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings, where senior IMF officials reaffirmed close cooperation with Montenegro and positively assessed progress on macro-financial stability and reforms linked to EU accession. In discussions with IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li, the IMF also underlined the importance of preserving the CBCG’s independence. Governor Irena Radovic outlined the banking sector’s current position and CBCG actions tied to the accession process, including alignment with the EU acquis, accession to the SEPA area, implementation of the TIPS Clone project, strengthening the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework, and work on a Needs Assessment project. In meetings with IMF constituency leadership, she highlighted bank stability, high capitalisation, and a continued decline in non-performing loans. Minister of Finance Novica Vukovic pointed to a 98% implementation rate of obligations from the European agenda for 2025 and cited 2025 indicators including 2.7% GDP growth, more than 2.7 million tourists, EUR 1.48 billion in revenues, foreign direct investment growth exceeding 14%, and an unemployment rate of 8.93%. The delegation also met the IMF mission head for Montenegro, Jeff Danforth, and IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas to discuss global and regional economic developments and priorities for future cooperation, and Radovic participated in the International Monetary and Financial Committee meeting.
Central Bank of Montenegro 2026-04-17
Central Bank of Montenegro highlights IMF support for EU-alignment reforms and banking sector stability
The Central Bank of Montenegro said senior IMF officials reaffirmed close cooperation with Montenegro and positively assessed progress on macro-financial stability and EU-accession reforms, while stressing the need to preserve central bank independence. Governor Irena Radovic cited banking sector stability, high capitalisation, falling non-performing loans and alignment with the EU acquis, including Single Euro Payments Area accession, the TIPS Clone project and stronger anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures. Finance Minister Novica Vukovic reported 2025 projections of 2.7% GDP growth, foreign direct investment growth above 14%, EUR 1.48 billion in revenues, over 2.7 million tourists and 8.93% unemployment.