On July 11, 2025, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko, held a meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Anke Weber, Chief of Mission for Albania.
The purpose of the Mission's visit to Albania was to conduct periodic dialogue with the Albanian authorities on economic, monetary and financial developments, as well as appropriate policies to promote sustainable economic development and maintain the country's monetary and financial stability.
The discussions focused on the latest economic and financial developments in the country, as well as their future prospects; the monetary policy pursued by the Bank of Albania and the measures taken to preserve and strengthen the health of the banking sector and the country's financial stability.
Initially, Governor Sejko familiarized the interlocutors with the latest developments in the domestic economy, emphasizing that economic activity has grown at a steady pace, consumer price inflation has stabilized at low levels, while financial markets have appeared calm and financing conditions remain accommodative.
The Governor also emphasized that the monetary policy pursued by the Bank of Albania has created appropriate monetary conditions for the achievement of the price stability objective. As part of the commitment to return inflation to target in the shortest possible time, the Bank of Albania undertook an easing of the monetary policy stance at the beginning of July, consistent with the flexible and evidence-based approach we have followed to maintain monetary and financial stability.
Focusing on the performance of the banking sector, the Governor stated that its activity is characterized by stability expressed in the high level of capitalization, liquidity and improvement in asset quality. Regarding the quality of the loan portfolio, the Governor stated that the non-performing loan indicator has reached its lowest level since 2008, at the end of 2024 it decreased to 4.17%, from 4.74% at the end of 2023. This decrease has been supported by satisfactory economic growth in recent years and a good performance of private sector balance sheets and is continuing to decrease in the first half of 2025.
During the meeting, Governor Sejko emphasized the challenges facing the domestic economy, such as challenges from the external environment, increasing trade barriers, uncertainties over the direction of economic and trade policies, as well as the intensification of geopolitical conflicts that create an environment of high uncertainty, requiring the necessary attention and flexibility to react effectively.
For their part, the representatives of the International Monetary Fund expressed their support for the monetary policy pursued by the Bank of Albania and its important contribution to monetary and financial stability. The Mission representatives also emphasized the importance of continuing the free exchange rate regime, underlining that this regime provides a very useful instrument in cushioning external shocks and is the best approach in the process of convergence with European Union standards.
They positively assessed the initiatives taken by the Bank of Albania in terms of banking supervision, improving the regulatory framework for consumer protection, increasing macroprudential caution, especially for controlling the banking sector's exposure to mortgage loans, as well as in terms of promoting and developing the payment system.
Finally, the Mission representatives emphasized the primary importance that an independent, professional and transparent central bank has for maintaining monetary and financial stability, as a prerequisite for a rapid and sustainable development of the country, underlining that this independence is also a primary criterion for maintaining the confidence of domestic and foreign investors in the Albanian economy and financial system.
At the end of the meeting, the participants confirmed the very good cooperation relations between the Bank of Albania and the International Monetary Fund in the framework of IMF missions, technical assistance and beyond. They also assessed the importance that the implementation of a Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) will have for the country, the work on which will begin next year. (A2 Televizion)
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