Page 111 - SE Outlook Regions 2024

companies. Corporate lending went up 1% y/y to €1.43bn, while household loans grew 8.8% y/y to €1.7bn at end-October.
Montenegro’s commercial bank deposits increased by 10.7% year on year in October, after rising 11.2% y/y the month before, reaching €5.54bn. Corporate deposits increased by 5.4% y/y, after going up by 7.2% y/y in September. The total corporate deposit stock reached €2.3bn. Household deposits were 17.8% y/y higher y/y at €2.78bn, after rising by 14.3% y/y in September.
The share of non-performing loans (NPLs) in Montenegro stood at 5.15% in July, down from 5.72% at the end of 2022. The stock of NPLs reached €206.31mn at end-July, down 0.9% month on month and 4.89% lower year on year.
The central bank also provided data about the stock of total overdue loan payments (including those that do not count as NPLs), excluding the interest rates on them, which increased by 8.01% m/m and went down by 12.71% y/y to €166.31mn.
Meanwhile, in November the central bank said it has received a request for approval of the purchase of a 50% stake in Prva Banka Montenegro from a Serbian company. Prva Banka’s main shareholder is Aco Djukanovic, brother of former president and prime minister Milo Djukanovic.
The central bank did not disclose the name of the Serbian company that asked to acquire the 50% stake in Prva Banka. If it gets the go-ahead, the deal should be signed in 2024.
In December, Montenegro’s private Universal Capital Bank (UCB) said it will complete the implementation of a system allowing direct payment slots with Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina by the end of 2023 so that it can become operational in 2024. UCB has signed an agreement on setting up an international clearing system with Montenegro’s central bank.
5.8.3 Industry
Montenegro relies strongly on investment in infrastructure projects and the tourism sector. The country is also taking steps to become more attractive for the IT sector and develop it as a more sustainable source of economic growth.
In mid-December, the European Commission granted Montenegro €112mn for the reconstruction of the Bar-Golubovci railroad. Montenegro has assessed it would need €250mn for the reconstruction of the Bar-Golubovci railway track, which is part of the Montenegro-Serbia Route 4 railway connection. That route is part of the pan-European Corridor X connecting Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Greece. The EU funds will be used for the reconstruction of 39.6km of the railway track between Bar and Golubovci, including repair of the Sozina tunnel and of Ratac landslide.
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