PRESS RELEASE
Governor Sejko meets representatives of the International Monetary Fund Mission

On 19 May 2022, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, had a closure meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission team, led by Ms Yan Sun, Mission Chief for Albania. The meeting was attended by Mr. Domenico Fanizza, Chief Executive Director of IMF for Italy, Portugal, Greece, Albania, Malta, and San Marino.

The meeting focused on the current economic and financial situation in Albania, future projections, as well as the policies that must be implemented to withstand the shocks engendered by the military aggression of Russia in Ukraine.

In his address, Governor Sejko emphasized that Albania is facing a serious shock due to the upswing in prices in international markets and the expected tightening of the financial conditions. However, in spite of them, the Albanian economy is expected to record a growth in 2022 and beyond, demonstrating the broadness and solidity of the growth sources, the stability and support of the financial sector, as well as the flexibility of the private sector. On the other hand, inflation has rapidly climbed and is expected to continue to overshoot its target throughout 2022.  Under these circumstances, the Governor underscored that the monetary policy of the Bank of Albania is expected to start a gradual normalisation course, aiming at controlling the medium-term inflationary pressures and returning inflation to its target with the lowest cost implications possible.

Next, the Governor presented the full picture of the measures that the Bank of Albania has undertaken as regards the meticulous regulation and supervision of the banking sector, the development of payment instruments, as well as the consolidation of the financial sector stability. He highlighted that the achievements of this institutional investment are now tangible, in the form of: a sound and competitive banking sector; stable financial markets; as well as a constant growth of both credit and the range of payment instruments in the economy.

The IMF representatives concurred as regards the issues that the Albanian economy is facing and the direction of the expected developments. In particular, they supported the need to further normalise the monetary policy stance, emphasizing that even after the normalisation takes place, monetary policy will remain accommodative for a considerable period of time.

Also, the IMF mission commended the work and the results achieved by the Bank of Albania to strengthening the monetary and financial stability of Albania. To this end, the consolidated financial parameters of the banking sector will absolutely serve as a guarantee that the current shock coming from global markets will not impact the soundness and activity of this sector.

In this view, both parties stressed the importance to continue to monitor the situation, as well as coordinate the policies of Albanian authorities by undertaking the necessary measures in timely manner.

Concluding, the IMF mission thanked the Albanian authorities for the hospitality and the close cooperation extended during the visit.