UNMIK/PR/141
Pristina—The Micro Enterprise Bank (MEB), the first private commercial bank to be licensed by the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo, opened officially on 24 January.
Attending the opening yesterday at the National Theatre were SRSG Bernard Kouchner, Klaus Glaubitt, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the MEB; Dr. Horst Kohler, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), an indirect shareholder of the MEB; Mr. Michael Barth, Managing Director of the FMO, which is the development bank of the Netherlands, a shareholder of the MEB; and, Mr. Ajri Begu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the BPK.
“UNMIK has played an active role in establishing basic banking in Kosovo," said Dr. Kouchner. "We facilitated the establishment and implementation of a regulatory and licensing framework for the banking sector; and, we've established a payments system for business and personal transactions”.
Mr. Begu told the MEB Board of Directors that “today is both a fortunate and unfortunate day for you … From today you can begin offering many of the banking services desperately needed in Kosovo. But as the first, you will have many challenges”.
The MEB will provide basic banking services to consumers, including account management and international money transfers, as well as micro-credits to local, small businesses. Current plans for the MEB include bank branch offices in Prizren and Peja.
To date, the MEB is the only bank that has applied for and received a license to operate.
15 February is the deadline for all organizations or individuals currently operating banking facilities in Kosovo to submit their applications to the Bank Supervisory and Regulatory Department or cease claiming to be a bank and cease conducting banking services.
Also yesterday, the Board of Governors of the Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo (BPK) met for the second time. Among the items discussed were plans to purchase and install software and hardware to facilitate banking and payment functions in Kosovo's prospective banks, to bring up the BPK to international standards.
The Bank Board and Management agreed to hold a contest to select a design for the emblem for the BPK. Contest rules and other details will be posted in Kosovo newspapers.