citizens in the banking sector, which remained stable, sound, highly capitalized and liquid throughout the entire period, showing high capability for successful handling of shocks. higher growth in the denar deposits and the acceleration of growth of the long - term savings is especially positive, which strengthens the banks'capacity for long - term placements and the support for investment projects. the deposit growth provided a solid basis for increase in the lending activity and deepening of financial intermediation2 by around 8 p. p. in the past ten years to the level of 48 % of gdp in 2017. however, despite the positive trends, the need for further increase in the total domestic savings is evident, which is a common feature of the cesee countries. thus the imf analysis of may 20163 mainly indicates " insufficient " domestic savings4 in cesee countries, i. e. the average savings rate ( as a difference between gross domestic product and consumption ) of about 20 % of gdp, which is lower than the current investment rate, lower than the estimated optimal rate of investment ( 25 % of gdp ), as well as the rate in countries with a relatively faster process of real convergence in the past ( 28 % of gdp ). the rate of total domestic savings is particularly low in 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches the see countries, where in 2017, on average, it is 17 % of gdp, including in the republic of macedonia where it is close to the average in the region. the relatively low domestic savings are an obstacle for stronger investment support, partly explained by the fact that, even after more than 25 years from the beginning of the transition, the level of accumulated capital per capita in most cesee5 countries is still relatively low, corresponding to about one - third of the levels in developed european economies. in rm the capital level per capita is lower than the average of the eu - 28 countries, and it equals around 24 %. moreover, as in most countries, even in our country the gap is deeper in the part of the private accumulated capital than in the public capital. however, according to the dynamics, a characteristic of the macedonian economy is that, unlike most of the economies in the region which registered significantly reduced investments ( an average of about 10 p. p. in gdp ) in the post - crisis period, until 2017 in our country their share registered an increase. this was underpinned by the stable inflow of foreign direct investment, the country's investments in

a period of significant credit expansion. it should be underlined that according to the supervisory examinations of the nbrm, the newly extended credits are granted to good clients. in december 2000, compared to the same month of 1999, the banks ’ foreign currency placements to the nongovernment sector decreased by denar 1, 421 million, or by 17. 2 %. the fall was primarily due to the higher attractiveness of the banks ’ denar credits due to the higher interest rates. at the end of march 2000, the nbrm continued with further reforms of the monetary policy instruments, where the abolishment of the credit ceilings being the most significant one. hence, the transition to indirect market - oriented instruments for monetary regulation has entirely been completed. moreover, the existing monetary instruments have been improved in order to be modern and closer to those used in developed market economies. within the framework of continuous and intensive efforts to lower the banks ’ interest rates, the nbrm, in april 2000, decreased the discount rate and the lombard credit interest rate by one percentage points, thus reducing them to 7. 9 % and 17. 5 % p. a. respectively. on december 30, 2000, according to the new methodology, the nbrm gross foreign exchange reserves equaled usd 478. 1 million. domestic and international payments liquidity in the republic of macedonia in 2000, the liquidity of the banking system considerably improved. in january – december 2000, compared to the same period of 1999, the average daily liquidity of the banking system was by 42. 1 % higher. this resulted in decrement of the demand for liquid funds by the banks, which was reflected upon the movement of the interest rate on the money market. in december 2000, the average weighted interest rate on the money market amounted to 7. 1 % and was by 4. 5 percentage points lower compared to the same month of 1999. the international liquidity in the payments is visible through the ability of servicing the external debt. on september 30, 2000, the external debt of the republic of macedonia, based on disbursed medium - term and long term foreign credits, amounted to usd 1, 400. 8 million. compared to the end of 1999, the external debt of the republic of macedonia was reduced by usd 37. 7 million, as a result of the repayment of the regular liabilities, as well as the exchange rate differentials. according to the payment schedule, lia