BANK OF ALBANIA

PRESS RELEASE
Governor Sejko attends the 43rd Meeting of the Central Bank Governors' Club of Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries.

Publication date: 02.06.2020

 

On 1 June 2020, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, attended the 43rd Meeting of the Central Bank Governors' Club of the Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries.

The meeting held by means of a teleconference was attended by Governors of central banks of Club’s member countries: the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, the Bank of Slovenia, the National Bank of Romania, the Bulgarian National Bank, the Czech National Bank, the Bank of Greece, the Central Bank of Montenegro, the National Bank of Serbia, the Bank of Israel, the National Bank of Poland, the People's Bank of China, etc.

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The Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Mr Murat Uysal welcomed and opened the proceedings of the meeting.

The discussions in this meeting addressed the situation created by the Covid-19 and its effects on member states' economies and on the global economy. The central bank governors stated they have analysed the situation created by the pandemic, which already poses a real challenge for policy-makers.

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Governor Sejko, in his speech to participants, stated that in line with the forecasts at a global level, as a result of the preventive measures taken to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, the economic activity in Albania during 2020 is expected to fall. This downturn is projected to be transitional and recover in the next years.

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He emphasized the importance of the measures taken by the public authorities to face this situation, such as fiscal packages and the approval of funds for sovereign guarantees provided by the Albanian Government to support firms with bank lending.

In addition, the Governor presented the measures taken by the Bank of Albania for the minimization of the Covid-19 pandemic costs in the country's economy, such as: (i) cut of the policy rate at the historic level of 0.5%; (ii)  the supply with the necessary liquidity of the country's banking system by removing quantitative limitations; (iii) forfeit of charges on using the electronic payment platforms; (iv) continuous supply with cash to the economy;(v) extension with two quarters of credit instalments to enterprises and households in financial difficulties; (vi) as well as regulatory changes aiming to ensure the resolution of customer requirements, and to ensure the soundness of banks and the system as a whole.

Concluding, Governor Sejko highlighted that the Bank of Albania remains keen on using the instruments at its disposal, cooperating with all the authorities in the country, in order to overcome this situation and create the premises for a rapid recovery of the economy.

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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, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, China, 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.