Commercial banks are banks that accept cash deposits or other repayable funds from the public and use them to extend credit and issue payment instruments in the form of electronic money. Pension funds are institutions that deal with the management of pension savings in the long term.
Insurance companies are institutions that promise to pay the insured person or the insured company for the risk damage predetermined in return of a price also predetermined. Insurance intermediaries or otherwise called “Broker”, enable mediation between the insurer and the insured. Microfinance institutions are organizations that provide small loans to individuals or family businesses with low income.
Non – Bank financial institutions are companies that perform financial intermediation and other activities, closely related to financial intermediation but which are not classified as accepting deposit.
Money transfer offices are institutions that provide money transfers in any country of the world.
Foreign Exchange Offices are institutions that carry out currency exchange transactions. Savings and Credit Associations are financial institutions that accept deposits only from their members, and lend these funds to ensure profit.
In 2013, 33 subjects were licensed by the Central Bank of Kosovo as foreign exchange offices, 14 entities were licensed by CBK as microfinance institutions, 13 as insurance companies, 9 as Commercial Banks etc. During this year, the CBK has approved 96 requests for opening new branches of banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.
Entities licensed by the Central Bank of Kosovo in 2010 – 2013
Source: Central Bank of Kosovo
Comments and analysis: ODA
Compared to Albania, among institutions licensed by the Central Bank in 2013, there are 16 operating banks compared to 9 currently in Kosovo, and there are 19 non-bank financial entities in Albania compared to 4 in Kosovo.
Commercial banks operating in the Republic of Kosovo
Source: Central Bank of Kosovo
Comments and analysis: ODA
Source: Central Bank of Kosovo
Comments and analysis: ODA
Kosovo banking market is characterized by activities of foreign bank branches by not showing the features of a banking market in a consolidated and autonomous state. Central Bank has been conservative in the possibility of licensing for local banks either with foreign capital or not. Commercial banks operating in the Republic of Kosovo are mainly banks that have proper license of activity in other Balkan countries.
Specifically there are operating ProCredit Bank, Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo JSC, NLB Prishtina JSC, the Bank for Business, the Economic Bank, TEB JSC, National Commercial Bank – Branch of Kosovo, Komercijalna Bank – Branch Mitrovica, Turkiye Is Bankasi – Branch Pristina. Among them, the Bank for Business has 43% domestic capital and the Economic Bank has 100% of domestic capital. Other banks are branches of foreign banks.