September 21 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's central bank governor Radoje Zugic said the share of non-performing loans in the country's banking system declined to 7.82% at the end of August from 8.18% a month earlier.
The country's banks have said they are undertaking a significant number of restructuring initiatives and an additional reduction of the NPL share is expected in the short term, Zugic said during a meeting with Emanuel Salinas, World Bank country manager for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, according to a statement issued by Montenegro's central bank on Wednesday.
"The economic situation is improving, backed by the positive trends in the banking sector," Zugic said in the statement.
Earlier this month, Zugic said he expects Montenegro's economy to expand by more than 4% in the third quarter of 2017. Direct investments in the country rose by 40% on the year in the first half of 2017, while the current account deficit decreased by 5%, Zugic noted.
The World Bank said in June it lowered its projection for Montenegro’s economic growth in 2017 to 3.3%, from 3.6% projected in January. The forecast for 2018 was affirmed at 3.0%, the World Bank said in its June 2017 Global Economic Prospects report.