The Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) today adopted a decision rejecting the application for issuing an operating license to Zeren Banka, the CBCG announced today.
The statement states that a session of the Central Bank of Montenegro Council was held today, chaired by the Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro, Irena Radović.
The Central Bank of Montenegro said that today's session marked the beginning of the work of the Council in its new composition, since the session was attended for the first time by the newly appointed external members of the Council: Tamara Backović, Srđan Milić, Šućo Orahovac and Ismet Hadžić.
"On this occasion, the Governor welcomed the newly appointed members and wished them success in their work, emphasizing the importance of their role in further strengthening the institutional framework and making decisions of importance for the stability of the financial system," the statement reads.
The Central Bank of Montenegro said that the newly appointed members of the Council expressed their determination to contribute to the work of the Council and the achievement of the goals of the Central Bank of Montenegro through responsible, dedicated and professional engagement.
"The Council, within the agenda item relating to compliance with regulatory requirements, adopted a decision rejecting the application for a license to operate the credit institution Zeren Bank AD Podgorica. The decision was made after a procedure was conducted in which it was assessed that the applicant had not met the legally prescribed conditions," the CBM said.
"Vijesti" announced in March 2025 that the Zeren Group had again submitted an application to the Central Bank of Montenegro to establish a bank in Montenegro.
This was then officially confirmed by "Vijesti" from this Turkish group.
The group first submitted this request on March 15, 2024, but temporarily withdrew it in September of that year because the Central Bank of Montenegro requested additional documentation, or, as previously stated by this group, it was required to submit consolidated financial statements prepared by one of the four largest auditing firms.
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The statement also states that at today's meeting, Šućo Orahovac and Tamara Backović were appointed as members of the Audit Committee from among the members of the Council who are not employees of the Central Bank of Montenegro.
"The Audit Committee, as a permanent working body of the Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro, supervises and evaluates the functioning of the internal control system and financial reporting, monitors the compliance of the Central Bank's operations with the law, other regulations and general acts, and monitors the effectiveness and efficiency of internal audit work. Other issues within the competence of the Council were also discussed at the session," the Central Bank said.
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