Governor Ismaili Participates in European Commi...

14/05/2024

Governor Ahmet Ismaili of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo (CBK) addressed the European Commission's Annual Ministerial Dialogue on Economic and Financial Policy (ECOFIN). The event included discussions with EU and Western Balkan partners, Türkiye, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine, under the EU Commission's auspices.

Governor Ismaili emphasized the CBK's commitment to price stability, highlighting a consistent decline in inflation to 2.32% in March 2024, with a quarterly average of 2.1% in Q1. Projections indicate that headline inflation should stabilize around 2.5% in 2024, amidst disinflationary trends in the Eurozone and ongoing geopolitical tensions.

During the dialogue, Governor Ismaili reaffirmed CBK's focus on strengthening risk-based supervision and aligning with international standards. He noted the banking sector's robustness, demonstrated by a Tier 1 capital ratio of 13.9% and a liquidity coverage ratio of 2.8. He also pointed out that EU banks hold over half of the sector's assets, which bolsters prudential standards. Despite credit growth, the sector maintains a low non-performing loan ratio of 1.9%, which is fully provisioned.

The Governor emphasized that a stable financial system contributed significantly to Kosovo receiving its inaugural Sovereign Credit Rating with a Stable Outlook from Fitch Ratings.

By endorsing the joint conclusions of the dialogue, Governor Ismaili reiterated CBK's commitment to collaborating towards enhanced financial stability and integrity, fostering growth and resilience on country path towards EU membership.