Bank system

Foreigners living or working in Montenegro can choose from a wide numbers of Montenegro banks. At the end of 2019, the banking sector consisted of 13 banks. The banks’ networks comprised 207 organisational units, including 111 branches. The total number of employees in the banking sector amounted to 2,497. At the end of 2019 there were 443 installed cash machines.

Banks' capital mostly comes from foreign sources. The share of foreign capital in banks amounted to 84%, and domestic capital accounted for 14%, while the share of government capital in total capital was 2%. Ten banks with majority foreign capital, originating mainly from large banking groups from the EU, were in control of 80% of the banking market.

The banks which operate in Montenegro are:

Crnogorska komercijalna banka AD Podgorica Hipotekarna banka AD Podgorica
Prva banka Crne Gore AD Podgorica NLB Banka AD Podgorica
Erste Bank AD Podgorica Komercijalna banka AD Podgorica
Addiko Bank AD Podgorica Podgorička banka AD Podgorica
Lovćen banka AD Podgorica Zapad banka AD Podgorica
ZIRAAT Bank Montenegro AD Podgorica Adriatic Bank AD Podgorica
Universal Capital Bank AD Podgorica  


In Montenegro you can open personal or company bank account and procedure is very smimple. For opening personal bank account only document you needed to bring is a valid passport. For opening company account you need to bring company documentation, notarized signature of people who will use bank account and their passports as well. To open a bank account in Montenegro you will have to visit your local bank branch in person. Procedure takes from one day for personal account till 3-4 days for company bank account.

Even is not member of a Eurozone, Montenegro use the Euro, which replaced the "dinar" in 2002. This is a currency used by 19 EU member states. Coins that are in circulation in Montenegro are 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents as well as €1 and €2 coins. Notes include €5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500.

The financial system in Montenegro is bank centric given that banks account for the main share in the market (over 90% of the total assets in the financial system) and most of financial intermediation takes place through them. Viewed through the structure of banks' balance sheets, the main activities of banks in Montenegro are: accepting deposits and disbursing loans, as well as providing various types of payment services, while investment banking or active investments in financial instruments are negligible.

Montenegro’s banking sector is stable and has improved. In 2019, banks experienced growth in assets, loans and deposits, while capital slightly decreased, along with a continuous decline in interest rates and the level of non-performing loans.