Montenegro’s government has approved amendments to legislation governing financial conglomerates, moving another piece of financial-sector regulation towards parliament as the country works to align its supervisory framework with European Union rules.
The government approved proposed amendments to the Law on Financial Conglomerates on Sept. 3, advancing legislation intended to strengthen supplementary supervision of groups combining banking, insurance and investment businesses.
The proposal is part of Montenegro’s alignment with EU Directive 2002/87/EC and is linked to the country’s negotiations under Chapter 9 on Financial Services.
The amendments still require parliamentary approval and publication before taking effect.
For Montenegro’s financial sector, the significance lies in supervision increasingly moving beyond individual regulated entities towards consolidated risks across corporate groups.
Banks, insurers and investment firms that form part of a wider financial conglomerate can face exposures that are not fully visible when each entity is assessed separately.
EU rules therefore require supervisors to examine issues such as group capital adequacy, risk concentration, intra-group transactions, ownership structures and governance across the conglomerate as a whole.
The reform is particularly relevant to financial groups operating across several regulated sectors or across multiple countries.
Montenegro’s banking sector is dominated by foreign-owned institutions, with several banks forming part of larger European financial groups.
The banking system remains strongly profitable, generating combined earnings of about €64.5 million in the first half of 2026, although profits were around 11% lower than a year earlier.
As Montenegro moves closer to EU accession, domestic banks and other financial institutions are expected to face progressively more EU-style reporting, governance and supervisory requirements.
For financial groups, that could increase compliance costs but should also improve regulatory consistency with parent companies and subsidiaries elsewhere in Europe.
The legislation may also strengthen cooperation between the Central Bank of Montenegro and other domestic and foreign regulators where banking, insurance and securities businesses sit within the same ownership structure.
The reform does not represent a change in the ownership or operating model of Montenegro’s financial institutions, but it moves supervisory practice closer to the framework used across the EU.
For investors, the broader significance is regulatory convergence.
Financial services remain one of the sectors where Montenegro must demonstrate that EU rules are not only incorporated into national legislation but can also be implemented effectively by domestic regulators.
Parliamentary approval of the amendments would therefore represent another incremental step towards closing outstanding financial-services requirements in Montenegro’s accession process.
