Vloga bank v izboljšanju korporativnega upravljanja na primeru prezadolženih družb v Severni Makedoniji

This study analyzes the critical role that banks play in enhancing corporate governance, with a special focus on indebted companies in North Macedonia.The core premise of the research is that inadequate corporate governance is a key factor leading to corporate financial distress, and the banking sector is uniquely positioned to act as a crucial external mechanism for its improvement.Banks consider their engagement as proactive and beneficial.In addition, they see corporate governance assessment as an essential part of the pre-loan process, with weak governance leading to stricter terms or loan denial.Their influence is primarily exerted through contractual covenants that enforce financial discipline and Early Warning Systems (EWS) that identify potential problems before they escalate.Banks believe these tools, along with their intensive monitoring, compel borrowers to adopt more transparent and disciplined management practices, thereby mitigating risk.In stark contrast, companies perceive the banks as formal, reactive, and transactional.While they acknowledge that the covenants protect the lender's interests, they feel these conditions are restrictive and limit operational flexibility without directly improving genuine governance.Companies report a significant lack of strategic dialogue beyond the loan approval process, stating that banks rarely offer advisory support or share valuable market insights.The macro-financial data of the Macedonian banking sector reflect the positive impact.Stricter bank practices have been instrumental in raising corporate governance standards and strengthening the overall resilience of the corporate sector.The data show that banks have systematically reduced their tolerance for clients with weak governance and financial practices, effectively making good corporate governance a prerequisite for financing and contributing to a more stable national economy.The analyzed cases further illustrate this dynamic.For the larger, publicly traded company banks initiated consolidated financial restructuring with covenant-enforced interventions and board-level monitoring.In contrast, for the smaller, owner-managed firm, banks adopted a more reactive role, offering limited restructuring support and imposing only basic financial covenants.This demonstrates that a bank's level of intervention is tailored to a firm's size and governance structure.While Macedonian banks have successfully used their influence to improve corporate governance and reduce systemic risk, their full potential remains untapped due to the significant perceptual gap.To bridge this divide, a fundamental shift is required from a purely transactional model to a collaborative one.Banks should provide advisory services, offer incentives for good governance, and leverage technology for greater transparency.On the other hand, companies should embrace this, viewing banks as strategic partners rather than mere creditors, and invest in their own internal governance capacities to ensure long-term financial stability and sustainable growth.