A key milestone in the country’s economic history was the establishment of the Central Bank of Moldova from scratch after the collapse of the USSR. At the origins stood a legendary personality, a professional with a capital letter – Leonid Talmaci, who played a fundamental role in the formation of the country’s financial system, becoming the first President of the National Bank of Moldova (1991-2009).
The first governor laid a rigid basis for the separation of the NBM and commercial banks and formed the first state funds for financial security of Moldova – foreign exchange reserves. A little later, in 1993, he led the development and successful launch of the national currency of the year – the Moldovan leu.
It is to Leonid Talmaci’s talent that the country’s banking system owes its formation. In the critical 1990s, he kept the monetary system from hyperinflation, minimized the consequences of the Russian default for Moldovan banks in 1998 and laid a solid foundation for the country’s modern financial stability. His tight monetary policy saved the economy from total collapse more than once.
Now the banking system of Moldova has 10 licensed commercial banks. The system is characterized by high concentration: more than 80% of all assets are held by the “big four” – maib, Moldindconbank, Victoriabank and OTP Bank.
European capital is present everywhere: about 95% of the country’s banking assets are managed by large investors from the European Union. Combanks show good financial results – the total loan portfolio of the system exceeded the historical mark of 109 billion lei, net profit of the banking sector is steadily increasing, amounting to more than 1.15 billion lei only in the first quarter of the year.
Integration into the global professional network is progressing well: all commercial banks in Moldova are fully operational in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and also support domestic instant transfers through the state MIA system.
