Deposits held by non-residents in Montenegrin banks stood at approximately €1.131 billion at the end of April, down €118 million, or 9.45%, from a year earlier. Their share of total banking deposits fell from 22.09% to 19.29%.
Total deposits nevertheless increased by 3.68% year on year to approximately €5.865 billion. Household deposits reached €2.487 billion, representing 42.4% of the total and increasing by 13.08% year on year. Deposits from the non-financial corporate sector stood at approximately €1.616 billion.
The decline in non-resident deposits has not created an immediate banking-system liquidity problem because domestic household balances are expanding strongly. The funding mix is becoming less dependent on foreign depositors, which improves resilience where domestic deposits prove stable.
The movement should still be monitored against real-estate transactions, foreign-company activity and capital inflows. A sustained fall in non-resident balances could indicate normalisation after earlier inflows, changes in banking-client composition or weaker external liquidity entering Montenegro.
Montenegro is also preparing to launch its national instant-payment service on 20 July. Technical and operational infrastructure has been reported as ready, while the remaining requirement is completion of the necessary legislative amendments. Successful implementation would reduce settlement times and support digital payments, although bank pricing and merchant adoption will determine the practical effect.
