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KOSOVO
Business & Investment Opportunities
Practices
financial system for Kosovo. Then,
it concentrated on opening up
Kosovo’s financial sector to foreign
participation, on strengthening the
sector overall, and on establishing
strong regulatory systems for both the
banking and the insurance sectors.
Next, the CBK fine-tuned the sector
by finding solutions for any problems
that had appeared. “Today, now that
we have a very strong, sound and
stable financial sector, our objective
for the future is to increase transparency
and advance market conduct,”
Hashim Rexhepi says.
The CBK is currently focusing
on implementing Basel II criteria
concerning disclosure and transparency.
“We have continuously
received technical assistance from
the EU, the United States Agency
for International Development
(USAID), the IMF and the World
Bank concerning revising our legal
framework and capacity building
of our staff. We can confidently say
that our legal framework is very
much in line with all EU directives.
Moreover, our procedures are
competitive with procedures in
other EU countries concerning
licensing and supervision,” Hashim
Rexhepi explains.
Hashim Rexhepi adds that the CBK
not only consults EU directives
when devising new policies, but
also adopts best practices both
regionally and internationally
recognised and accepted. “We try
to harmonise and balance the two
elements: EU directives and the
environment in which we operate,”
he says.
Boosting financial sector’s
GDP contribution
The CBK serves not only to bring
stability and transparency to the
financial sector and foster efficient
payment systems, but also to
advise the government concerning
Kosovo’s economic development.
A guiding principle for the CBK is
to enhance Kosovo’s economy, and
thanks to the financial institution’s
efforts the financial sector has
become a significant contributor to
Kosovo’s GDP.
The CBK is also working to
alleviate unemployment in Kosovo,
which Hashim Rexhepi singles out
as one of the main problems the
country currently faces. “Certainly
the financial sector has played a
key role in the reduction of unemployment,
since all financial institutions
in Kosovo hire local staff,”
he says.
Three new banking licenses
last year
Kosovo’s financial sector had new
entries last year. Hashim Rexhepi
points out that two local banks were
acquired by NLB Bank (Slovenian
Bank) in order to increase
competition in the banking sector,
and the CBK issued three more
banking licenses. “More foreign
investors are looking for ways to
invest in Kosovo’s financial sector
because confidence in the sector is
increasing,” he says.
Foreign investors in Kosovo should
know that the local financial sector
is sound and can fulfil their needs.
As Hashim Rexhepi points out,
“The return on assets is very high
in Kosovo; in fact, it is the highest
in South East Europe. In addition,
our legal framework ensures equal
opportunities for foreign investors,
efficient payment systems and the
use of euro provides an added
value, and our laws on terrorism
funding and money laundering
are based on EU directives. At
the CBK, we are committed to
best practices and have ensured
a very transparent and profitable
financial sector. The sector’s
steady growth over the past eight
years shows the inherent strength
of Kosovo’s financial system.”
Throughout, CBK will devote all
efforts to carrying out its tasks in
the most independent and professional
manner, and assist further
in the integration of Kosovo’s
financial sector in regional and
European initiatives.
Central Bank
of the Republic of Kosovo
Garibaldi str. 33
10000 Prishtina - Kosovo
Tel.: +381 38 243 766
Fax: +381 38 243 763
www.cbak-kos.org
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