Washington, 28 April 2025

The Director of the Statistics Department at the IMF, Albert Kroese, expressed satisfaction with the further progress of the National Bank in the area of ​​statistics, with a positive assessment of the quality, volume and timeliness of the disseminated data, which are in conformity with the highest international standards. It was emphasized that the National Bank collects, prepares and disseminates data in line with the highest IMF’s SDDS Plus statistical standard, in a transparent and timely manner, in accordance with the Data Release Calendar. This was emphasized at the meeting Kroese held with the Governor of the National Bank, Anita Angelovska Bezhoska and the Vice Governors Fadil Bajrami and Ana Mitreska, on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. At the meeting, the progress and future plans of the National Bank in the area of ​​statistics were discussed. 

The National Bank delegation pointed out the efforts to promote the public communication, through clearer visualization of data, media activity and social media interaction. The Governor emphasized that the National Bank has been committed to developing new sets of statistical data and their availability to the public. Thus, as of October 2024, the set of financial accounts data was enriched with quarterly and annual consolidated balances, while data on financial flows by sector are expected to be published by the end of 2025.

The meeting noted improvement in external statistics, which moved forward the deadlines for preparation and submission of monthly data on the balance of payments and quarterly data on investment position to Eurostat, in accordance with the EU standards and requirements. In the field of monetary statistics, the National Bank started a voluntary interest rate data sharing with the European Central Bank. 

The National Bank delegation pointed out that for the purpose of supporting the reporting entities and reducing the burden of statistical data reporting, the National Bank continued with the activities for increasing digitalization of the reporting process. In this light, the National Bank is working on simplified reporting by banks on cross-border payments for statistical purposes and harmonization with the SEPA standards. Also, the activities related to the long-term project for establishing a granular reporting system for statistical and supervisory purposes ISIDORA are gradually being completed.

The meeting pointed out that the National Bank has been actively cooperating with the IMF on new initiatives in the field of statistics and following the methodological recommendations to improve data quality. In order to methodologically improve the data on remittances and other balance of payment components, the National Bank has prepared a draft assessment model which was submitted to the IMF, in accordance with their recommendations.

The IMF pointed out that these achievements placed the National Bank among the institutions that actively adjust to the global standards, providing high-quality and timely statistical data as the foundation for economic development and stability.

The National Bank delegation held several meetings with representatives from the Monetary and Capital Markets Department and the Legal Department at the IMF, where they discussed the current activities and the possible further cooperation to strengthen the monetary framework, including the tools for monetary policy analysis and normative setting. The possibility for technical support in the process of harmonization with the international good practices and IMF standards was also considered.