The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko, held a meeting with the mission of the International Monetary Fund, headed by Anke Weber, head of the Mission for Albania, this Thursday.

The purpose of the Mission’s visit to Albania is to hold talks with the Albanian authorities within the framework of Article IV.

The focus of the talks were the economic and financial developments in the country, the monetary policy followed by the Bank of Albania to guarantee price stability. They also focused on the measures taken to preserve and strengthen the health of the banking sector.

Referring to the latest data from INSTAT, Governor Sejko emphasized that the Albanian economy had an increase of 4% during the second half of the year.

“Credit to the private sector has continued to record positive growth rates during the third quarter of the year, and its annual growth was at the level of 16.8%, where credit in the local currency leads. An important indicator of the health of the banking sector is the decrease in the level of non-performing loans, to 4.58%, in September,” said Governor Sejko.

Beyond the positive pace of the banking sector, Gent Sejko also emphasized the challenges facing the local economy. In this context, he underlined the importance of following careful and coordinated monetary, fiscal and financial policies.