Bank of Albania – response to COVID-19

Nowadays, the world and Albania are facing an unprecedented situation, a health crisis caused by COVID-19, which has obliged government to undertake extreme measures and disrupt a range of activities in the public life.  All together we are engaged to counter successfully this crisis, to protect our health. At the same time, we have to manage the economic situation, which is affected considerably by this crisis; to help economic agents withstand the difficult conditions; and establish the possibilities for a restart of the activity at the best manner as possible.

In this framework, the main public institutions in Albania have undertaken continuous coordinated measures, to highly coordinate the joint efforts against this invisible enemy and the damage it is causing in our life. 

In response to this situation, the Bank of Albania undertook immediate measures to support the Albanian economy which is hit by coronavirus pandemic.  

The undertaken measures aim at mitigating the negative impacts on the welfare of enterprises and households, as well as establishing the premises for a very rapid recovery of economy in the following period.

The bank of Albania continuously monitors the situation and extends its willingness to employ all the operational instruments and regulatory space available, to minimise the consequences of the pandemic on the economy in general and on the Albanian financial system in particular. 

The goal of our decision taking will be the safeguarding of the monetary and financial stability in Albania, the easing of the crisis costs to Albanian enterprises and households, as well as the overcoming of this situation at less negative effects possible in order to not affect the long-term development of the country.

In this regard, the measures undertaken by the Bank of Albania, within its field of competence, enable and complete the fiscal package announced by the Albanian Government, which aims at shifting a part of the financial bill to counter the crisis from private to public sector.