Skopje, October 1, 2020
It is very important that the reduce of the credit support was prevented due to the current National Bank’s measures during the COVID-19 crisis, in order to help the real economy, said the Governor Anita Angelovska Bezhoska in an interview with the show “Aktuelno” on the Macedonian radio.
“In times of crisis, one of the expected effects is a reduction of the credit support- due to reduced demand or restraint of banks. But this time, the undertaken monetary measures prevented the reduction of credit support i.e. maintained it on a very solid level. At the end of the last year, the credit growth amounted 6%, and now, according to the last available data including August, it is 8.8%, with positive trends in lending to corporate sector.”-pointed the Governor.
Despite the increase of the cost of financing on global financial markets, as pointed out by Angelovska Bezhoska, there is a slight downward trend in the level of interest rates on credit support in our country. Having in mind the current conditions, increase in the price of loans is not expected in the forthcoming period.
“It is a generally known fact that the most important factor for economic growth are the structural factors, but still, the cost of financing and providing financial support for various projects that can be drivers of growth can make a significant contribution. Hence, we are focused on not tightening the financial conditions and keeping them favorable.” – said the Governor.
Referring to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the Macedonian economy in the interview, she pointed out the expectations for the rest of this year.
“There is still no data for the third quarter, but the short-term economic indicators we follow suggest a more moderate decline in the economy compared to the second quarter. Still, the uncertainty is present, since what happens in economy depends on both, the pandemic situation and the effectiveness of the macroeconomic policies- both monetary and fiscal policy are relaxing in this period, in order to offset the negative effect of the shock we are facing from the COVID- crisis.” – said Angelovska Bezhoska.
For higher sustainable rates of economic growth in future, as the Governor pointed out, it is very important to continue implementing structural reforms, since only then does the long-term potential of the economy increase.
“Structural reforms that affect the three key factors of economic growth- labor, physical capital volume and productivity, need to be pursued. It is particularly important to work on increasing productivity. If productivity grows, it naturally creates space for wage growth and higher living standards for citizens. In terms of increasing productivity, further investment in the quality of institutions, in new technologies and innovations is necessary.” –said Angelovska Bezhoska.
At the end of the interview, the Governor also addressed the issue of cyber security in the financial sector.
An audio recording of the interview is available here.