Public Announcements

Annual Conference "Year of New Opportunities"

31/01/2023

The Development Bank of North Macedonia, represented by Chief Executive Officer Kire Naumov, participated in the annual conference "Year of New Opportunities" organized by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia.
 

CEO Naumov in his speech on the topic panel "Investments and economic growth in crisis conditions" emphasized that in the last three years, the Bank disbursed almost EUR 300 million to support 7,500 projects, and in 2022 alone funds in the amount of EUR 107 million were disbursed.

 

 

"My work together with the Chief Operating Officer Faruk Ismaili at the Development Bank, from the end of 2019 until now, has been in the context of dealing with the consequences of global crises. The first challenge was the covid pandemic, with which the Bank, with the support of the Government, realized four interest-free covid credit lines to support 4,134 companies, in the amount of EUR 45 million. The credit lines were realized with direct lending through DBNM, which meant a challenge for us as management of the Bank, and for the employees to work in extraordinary conditions. Of course, this helped in maintaining the liquidity of the companies and preserving jobs."

 
 
The energy crisis that followed the Covid crisis imposed the need for the Bank to continuously adapt its products, that is, to create credit lines that were supported by the Government as a set of measures. Three credit lines were introduced (two interest-free and one with favorable interest) in the amount of EUR 25 million to support companies in dealing with it.
 

Of course, there are also new products that the Bank introduced during this period, such as the Guarantee Fund, Customs Guarantees, and, Interest subsidy on commercial bank loans approved to companies that reinvested profits. 

 

In continuity, the price crisis imposed the need for a new adjustment, and in that context, the easing of the criteria for the credit line for the production, processing, and export of agricultural products, as well as the introduction of the new credit line to support companies in conditions of energy and price crisis, are particularly significant.


The state has always been supportive, by providing a state guarantee for credit lines from foreign funding sources. In the period from 2020 until now, EUR 150 million has been withdrawn from the EIB credit line with a favorable interest rate of up to 1.6% to end users, and the new EIB 7 credit line in the amount of EUR 100 million is in the final stage, which is in the sign of a green economy.
 

In 2022, the RNM Government recapitalized the Bank in the amount of EUR 10 million from the State Budget, thus, the total capital and reserves of the bank amount to EUR 57.5 million. Funds for recapitalization of the bank are made available to domestic companies through favorable credit products aimed at dealing with the energy and price crisis, i.e. credit lines for energy efficiency, investments in renewable energy sources, and a credit line for digitization, which will be a novelty in the Bank's Product catalog.
 
 


Fatmir Bytyqi: "Not only did we recapitalize the Development Bank, but they successfully and skillfully created mechanisms together with the Government in
which they piloted and were pioneers in the financial market in our country. In every developed country, the development bank has that role and I'm proud that even in
a period of crisis we did it, and I think we have a partner that we didn't have five years ago"