The National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia (NBRM) recently joined AFI with the goal to further develop and implement innovative financial inclusion policies in Macedonia in line with the bank’s overall mission to maintain financial stability and contribute to the increase of the economic well being and higher living standards for citizens.
NBRM, which became a part of AFI on World Savings Day, is the 109th institution in the Network and represents the first member from the Southeast Europe region.
It is the central bank of a nation where 74 percent of the population owns an account at a formal financial institution but only eight percent of people saved in those same bodies in 2011, according to the World Bank Group. Additionally, a modest 11 percent of Macedonians (age 15+) received a loan from a formal financial institution in 2011 compared to 24 percent of people who borrowed from family or friends in that time span.
Remittances remain important in Macedonia accounting for approximately 4.2 percent of the country’s GDP (US $10.4 billion) in 2011. However, just six percent of the population (age 15+) used an account to receive these funds.
NBRM Governor Dimitar Bogov indicated improved financial education is a top priority for the National Bank, and he anticipates successful collaboration within the AFI Network in pursuit of these objectives. He also stated information on how to conduct national surveys and how to better measure financial inclusion in Macedonia will be useful and of particular initial interest.
“The National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia recognizes the Alliance for Financial Inclusion as an important network of financial inclusion policymakers which has one database of successful financial inclusion policies that can be compared and analyzed for the benefit of all member countries,” said Mr. Bogov. “I look forward to our future collaboration that I think it will prove very useful for both counterparts, as well as for the other members of AFI.”