The National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia is committed to achieving a high level of compliance and preserving the integrity of its operations, primarily by providing a legal framework (National Bank Compliance Policy and Compliance Function Guidelines) to achieve compliance of all stakeholders: the National Bank Council, Governor, Vice Governors, non-executive members of the National Bank Council, other strategic and tactical managers and employees, and is dedicated to the continuous development and advancement of compliance at a bank level. 

The Compliance Function is an independent organizational unit that takes care of and contributes to the legally and ethically compliance in the Bank, i.e. operations in accordance with compliance regulations and legislation that concerns Bank’s operations, by the National Bank employees and Council members, in fulfilling its goals and performing its tasks. It is an additional mechanism for supporting and strengthening compliance of employees and Council members, for the National Bank capacity building and for limiting its exposure to compliance risk. 

The Compliance function pays attention and focus on issues that by their nature, always include issues of legal and ethical nature, especially risks that would arise therefrom in terms of the National Bank reputation and/or integrity: 

• ethics and professional integrity, conflict of interest, corruption, bribe, whistleblowing , harassment, gifts etc.;  

• legal obligations of  employees and Council members in accordance with compliance regulation; 

• by-laws adopted by the National Bank Council and etc.. 

In order to achieve a high level of compliance in the Bank, this function undertakes activities for prevention, detection and reaction such as: compliance risk identification and assessment, informing and advising on compliance regulations, regular and ad hoc compliance checks within the scope of its competence, conducting educational activities and trainings in order to promote and raise awareness of the importance of compliance, proper implementation of  compliance regulation, advising/recommendation for reducing compliance risk , proposals for improving its operating acts and other.

The compliance function pays special attention to prevention against corruption and conflict of interests within the National Bank operations, i.e. it takes care of implementation of anti-corruption activities determined in the National Bank Anti-Corruption Policy and advises on proper implementation of regulations that sets forth the prevention against corruption and conflict of interests.

To prevent corrupt, unlawful or unethical actions within the National Bank operations, the compliance function promotes whistelblowing protection and communicates the Law on Whistle Blower Protection and related regulations to the employees.

The compliance function is established in accordance with international compliance principles, compliance best practices of the national central banks in the Eurosystem and the ECB compliance function.