PRESS RELEASE
Questions and answers at the press conference of the Governor of the Bank of Albania, 06.05.2015

Question- What is the current situation of the inter-ministerial group, created for solving the issue of non-performing loans in Albania. What is being done in concrete terms?

Governor- Bad loans or non-performing loans are one of the major concerns not only for the Bank of Albania but also for other public and private market operators. The main problem with bad loans is that not only do they worsen banks' balance sheets, but also add to the reluctant and conservative approach of banks to continue lending, which we expect and which is essential for economic growth.

In this regard, the Bank of Albania is coordinating its work with private economic operators and government institutions, mainly the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Justice. We are working on a forum, which brings together the IMF, the World Bank and the Albanian public institutions, to address this problem more specifically. All the stakeholders, including the Bank of Albania are making preparations, accordingly.

With our coordination, we are preparing a comprehensive national platform to address the issue of non-performing loans. This includes elements related to non-performing loan write off from balance sheets, which improve the economic and financial situation of commercial banks, and to the legal treatment of cases of non-performing loans. For that reason, we have said that this issue is of nation-wide importance and needs a nation-wide addressing.

The problem of bad loans is not present only in Albania. The entire region suffers from a high level of non-performing loans. From this perspective, although with a slightly higher level, Albania does not differ from the other countries in the region. I am very certain that these countries are addressing non-performing loans in the same way that we are.

As I said earlier, it is crucial to be able to reduce non-performing loans, so that banks may move forward with the lending activity and make a positive impact on the expected economic growth for 2015 and beyond.