PRESS RELEASE
Governor Sejko attends Governors Club of Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan countries

On 25-27 September 2015, Gent Sejko, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, attended the XXXIV Meeting of The Central Bank Governors' Club of the Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries. The meeting was held in Tbilisi, Georgia and was led by Giorgi Kadagidze, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia. Central Bank governors from 23 member countries of the Club participated in the event.

The high levels of dollarization constituted one of the central topics of discussion during the meetings. The heads of monetary institutions shared the experiences and measures taken by central banks with regard to safeguarding financial stability.

The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Gent Sejko, presented the latest developments in the Albanian economy and the measures the Bank of Albania has taken to guarantee Albania's macroeconomic and financial stability.

In his presentation, Governor Sejko addressed the macroeconomic indicators and underlined that year 2014 was characterised by a sluggish economic activity and low inflation rates. To boost the economic activity, the Bank of Albania has pursued an accommodative monetary policy, and the key interest rate stands currently at the 2% historic minimum.  It has also combined its monetary stimulus with accommodative macroprudential policies. Governor Sejko also pointed out that during this year the Bank of Albania has amended a number of regulatory acts aimed at boosting lending, cutting intermediation costs and encouraging the restructuring of non-performing loans. In this regard, Governor Sejko informed participants on the commitment by all government and financial institutions in Albania to improve the legal and regulatory framework to address and solve the issue of non-performing loans. Governor Sejko iterated that the solution to this issue is crucial for the performance of lending and the Albanian economy.

The presentation by Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko stirred the interest of the participants in the event. The macroprudential measures taken by the Bank of Albania and the action plan to boost lending were some of the key topics of discussions between Governor Sejko and other central bank governors.

• Governor's presentation

The Central Bank Governors' Club of the Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries was established in 1998, upon the initiative of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. Its members include: Albania (since 1998), Greece, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria Bosnia  and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, China, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia and Slovenia. The purpose of the Governors' Club is to maintain financial stability in the region and foster cooperation within the banking sector through the exchange of best experiences and round tables at governor or expert level on current issues of concern.