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

On 20-21 September 2018, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, attended the 40th Meeting of the Central Bank Governors' Club of the Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries. The meeting was held in Bucharest, Romania, and was attended by Governors of central banks of Club member countries. The Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mr Mugur Isărescu, welcomed and opened the proceedings of the meeting.

The meetings of Governors’ Club serve as a discussing platform on the latest developments in the member countries, where representatives of central banks share their experiences, the mechanisms and policies they employ to adapt to changes and developments in the financial markets and banking sector, aiming at safeguarding financial stability.

The discussions were held in three main panels.  Governor Sejko was lead speaker in the second panel. He delivered a presentation on: “Financial stability and growth prospect of corporate debt in emerging and developing countries”, focusing on the possibilities and challenges among them.

Governor Sejko stated that the financial system stability and the performance of real economy are interdepended. This connection is mainly determined by the level and quality of credit to financial corporations, and by the relevant legal framework to deal with this debt.

Mr Sejko added that to assess risks to financial stability, it is important to provide better data on the nature of this debt.  It becomes more important given the current conditions, when a monetary policy normalisation at global level may have consequences for the debt burden of financial corporations in emerging countries and for its quality as well.  He pointed out that more needs to be done to enhance the elasticity of both financial institutions and financial markets.

Turning to Albania’s case, the Governor mentioned the efforts to assess the debt burden of enterprises through the surveys conducted by the Bank of Albania.  He highlighted that the data show this debt remains under control, while the banking sector is well-capitalised and liquid, capable to withstand potential risks.

About the Club

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 includes 26 member countries:  Albania (since 1998) Greece, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, China, the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, Belarus and Hungary.  The purpose of the Governors' Club is to strengthen the ties among central banks in the region and foster regional cooperation, through the exchange of best experiences and round tables organised at governor or expert level on current issues of concern.