PRESS RELEASE
Decisions by the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania, 5 August 2020

On 5 August 2020, in addition to the decision to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 0.5%, as well as overnight deposit and overnight loan rates at the Bank of Albania at 0.1% and 0.9%, respectively, the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania reviewed and decided:

• The phased closure of the intermediation investment activity of natural person in T-Bills through the Bank of Albania.

According to this Decision, the Bank of Albania will apply the phased closure of the opportunity to invest in T-Bills through its desks, in the next two years. During 2021 the opening of new securities account by individuals that have not previously performed transactions through the Bank of Albania will not be accepted. Afterwards, from 1 January 2022, individuals will no longer have the opportunity to participate in T-Bills auctions through the Bank of Albania.

Thus, starting from 1 January 2022, all operations to invest in T-Bills will be performed only by other financial institutions licensed for this service.

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Analysing the developments in the market of securities issued by the Albanian government, the Bank of Albania assesses that the conditions are suitable for it to gradually cease this activity which is typical for a commercial bank and not for a central bank. It has concluded that competition in the financial market for this product is good, there is development in the financial education of the population for it, and the number of institutions that provide this service for this category of investors has increased as well. For more details, citizens can contact the desks of the Bank of Albania.

The Supervisory Council was also informed on daily functional and operational activities of the Bank of Albania.