PRESS RELEASE
Governor Sejko meets Ms Elke König, Chair of Single Resolution Board

Today, on 3 November 2015, the Chair of Single Resolution Board (SRB), Ms Elke Konig paid an official visit to Albania, upon the invitation of the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko.

At the Bank of Albania, Ms König met with Governor Sejko, the two deputy governors, Ms Elisabeta Gjoni and Ms Natasha Ahmetaj, and the member of the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania Ms Denada Prifti.  Ms Prifti is also an expert at the Single Resolution Board.

They discussed on the processes started by the Bank of Albania to review the actual legal framework, aimed at improving and approximating it to the Directive 2014/59/EU, establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of troubled banks.

Governor Sejko provided an overview of the economic and financial developments in Albania and on the role of the Bank of Albania in maintaining financial stability. In addition, the Governor pointed out that the banking sector is well capitalised and liquid, with sound financial parameters.

In particular, the Governor focused on Bank of Albania's work to improve the banking system legal framework. Bank of Albania assessments and recommendations of international partners show that existing legal framework needs to be improved, with the aim to provide the authorities, in the future, with the necessary legal instruments to manage difficult situations in the financial sector.

Mr König offered her views of what has been accomplished in the first year of the Single Resolution Board and what remains ahead before fully having resolution powers on 1 January 2016. The SRB, next to the ECB's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), is the second pillar of the Banking Union.

Ms König met also with representatives from the main departments of the Bank of Albania and from the Albanian Deposit Insurance Agency. Dr König shared with the participants the experience of the European Union on the establishment of the Single Resolution Board. 

During her visit in Tirana, Ms König met with, Mr Shkëlqim Cani, the Minister of Finance and Ambassador Romana Vlahutin, Head of the EU Delegation to Albania. The main reforms in Albania for approximation to the European standards and the role of the recovery framework in maintaining the financial stability were discussed, among others, in these meetings.

Dr Elke König is the Chair of the Single Resolution Board (SRB) and had been President of the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht - BaFin).