The National Bank is among the central banks that, despite the pandemic, are constantly improving their statistics. Statistics published by the National Bank adhere to the highest international standards met by only 26 countries in the world, said Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Statistics Department Louis Marc Ducharme at a meeting with a National Bank’s team led by Governor Anita Angelovska-Bezhoska as part of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF.
According to Ducharme, a lot has also been achieved in the area of data dissemination, after the release of NBStat. Ducharme pointed out that the National Bank’s statistical performance, especially in the past two years, has yielded exceptional results, which are of great importance for the overall statistical system of the country, the National Bank said in a press release.
Participants in the meeting stressed this is also important for the overall economy as it is the basis for making right decisions, by both policy makers and the corporate sector. In addition, interlocutors noted that since the outbreak of the corona crisis, the National Bank has conducted all statistical surveys without delay. It was also emphasized that the National Bank is constantly seeking to improve transparency, quality and the scope of statistical data it prepares, i.e. indicators under its jurisdiction, in accordance with the highest IMF special data dissemination standard – SDDS Plus.
“Less than a year ago, the National Bank started disseminating annual financial accounts data of the domestic economy, which show the stock of financial assets and liabilities. This was an important step for the domestic statistical system, as these data provide detailed information on the stock and flow of financial assets and liabilities of the sectors, their structure by financial instruments, as well as the mutual financial exposure of each sector. Hence, financial accounts are an important source of information for economic policy makers,” reads the press release.
The National Bank is building its statistical capacities through projects with the IMF, the EU and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO). Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi and his team also took part in the meeting.
Source:MIA
