Skopje, 20 September 2020 

The confidence in the domestic financial system is high and compared to last year, it remains unchanged, as confirmed by the results of the annual Financial Stability Risk Assessment Survey, published recently. This is an annual survey conducted in the first quarter, and this year, the scope of respondents has expanded. Besides banks, as the only respondents, this year, the survey covered savings houses, pension fund management companies, insurance companies, financial companies, brokerage companies, investment fund management companies and economic analysts.

The Survey results indicate that majority of respondents believe that changes in international and domestic regulations, household creditworthiness and political stability are important for the financial stability. In this context, seen from today's perspective, it is important that the credit growth is above the forecasts and that the changes in domestic regulations after the outbreak of the corona crisis are sized such that to maintain financial sector stability even in times of COVID-19 pandemic.

The results, inter alia, indicate that some of the respondents have responded and assessed that the environment of low interest rates is important for the financial institutions. Regarding the external environment, almost half of the respondents consider the changes in international standards and regulations important. Analyzing other risks, about 40% of the responses consider IT risks and cyber-attacks significant. In recent years, the protection of our financial sector against cyber-attacks has been constantly improving, including through the strengthening of the regulatory framework.

The results of the Financial Stability Risk Assessment Survey build on the already published observations of international financial institutions, which in their reports express positive assessments of the stability of our financial system.