According to the data of the Central Bank (CBCG), the mandatory reserve of the banks of Montenegro at the end of April amounted to 271.4 million euros.
Of the total amount, 69.3 percent was allocated to the mandatory reserve accounts of banks in the country, and 30.7 percent to the CBCG accounts abroad.
The average balance of total bank deposits, which form the basis for calculating the required reserve, was 4.97 billion euros in March. Of the total level of deposits, 82.73 percent refers to demand deposits, and 17.27 percent to term deposits.
Banks in Montenegro allocated a mandatory reserve based on the decision of the CBCG. That decision established a system for calculating the required reserve by applying a rate of 5.5 percent to the part of the base made up of demand deposits and deposits with a maturity of up to one year and a rate of 4.5 percent to the part of the base made of deposits with a maturity of more than one year.
A rate of 5.5 percent is applied to deposits contracted with a maturity of more than one year that have a clause on the possibility of installments within a period of less than one year. As of January 2018, the basis for the calculation of the reserve requirement consists of fixed-term and demand deposits, except those of central banks.
On 50 percent of the allocated mandatory reserve, the CBCG pays the banks a monthly fee calculated at the rate of €STR (short-term interest rate in euros) reduced by ten basis points on an annual basis, with the fact that this rate cannot be lower than zero.
Banks can use interest-free up to 50 percent of the allocated mandatory reserve to maintain daily liquidity, if they return the used amount on the same day.
