Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The planned decline in this year’s profit of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) is the result of strategic investments and decisions made in the interest of citizens, the economy, and the state, linked to integration into SEPA and the upcoming launch of the TIPS Clone instant payment system, said Vice Governor Zorica Kalezic.

“This is also the result of objective constraints stemming from the monetary environment and Montenegro’s specific status as a unilaterally euroized economy,” Kalezic told Mina-business agency, commenting on the planned profit for this year, which is almost four times lower than in 2025.

Kalezic stated that, as part of the modernization of the payment system and full integration into SEPA, CBCG introduced a number of measures funded from its own revenues, with the clear aim of reducing payment costs domestically and internationally, increasing economic competitiveness, and generating direct savings for citizens, businesses, and the state budget.

“These structural reforms resulted in a decline in fee revenues of around €6.3 million,” Kalezic said.

According to her, another important factor behind the drop in profits is the decrease in CBCG’s interest income from investing in international reserves, amounting to €2.2 million, due to the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB).