November 20 (SeeNews) - Moldova needs to strengthen its fight against corruption, to maintain relation with the international financial institutions and continue the reform of its banking sector in 2020, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said.
Particular emphasis should be given to fighting corruption and vested interests, irrespective of political affiliations, ensuring the independence of the judiciary and de-politicizing state institutions, the EBRD said in its Transition Report 2019-2020 on Tuesday.
Moldova also needs to continue with the implementation of structural reforms and macroeconomic policies agreed under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which is crucial for maintaining investor confidence and for receiving financial support from international development partners, the bank added.
In October, the IMF said it is lending Moldova a further $46.1 million (42 million euro) under the current three-year funding arrangement.
Τhe country should also respect the independence of its central bank and strengthened its capacities in order to help it finalise the restructuring and cleaning of the banking sector without compromising fit and proper criteria for the banks’ shareholders. "Fully transcribing international standards for the supervision of banking and non-banking sectors needs to remain high on the agenda," the EBRD stressed.
Moldova was faced with a banking crisis in 2014 when about $1 billion went missing from three of its banks - Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank. The three banks were subsequently liquidated.
EBRD said earlier this month that it expects Moldova to post 3.8% GDP growth in 2019, up from 3.5% projected in May.
For 2020, the EBRD has lifted its forecast for Moldova's economic expansion to 4.0% from 3.8%, the bank said in its November 2019 Regional Economic Prospects report.
($=0.9034 euro)