PRESS RELEASE
On the visit of the Governor of the Croatian National Bank Mr Boris Vujčić, at the premises of the Bank of Albania

On 28 March 2024, upon the invitation of the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr Gent Sejko, the Governor of the Croatian National Bank Mr Boris Vujčić paid an official visit to the Bank of Albania.

This visit, which marks an important step for the further development of bilateral relations between the Bank of Albania and the Croatian National Bank, began with the joint meeting held at the premises of the Bank of Albania.

First, Governor Sejko thanked Mr Vujčić for the visit and commended the relationship between the two countries and the respective central banks, convinced that there is room for further development of the potential for economic and technical cooperation between Albania and Croatia. He also emphasized that the latter can lead the process of Albania's integration into the EU.

During the meeting, Governor Sejko stated that despite the challenges, the Albanian economy continued to grow and make progress in almost every indicator of the economic and financial stability. In particular, inflation is already close to the Bank of Albania's target and has consistently remained among the lowest levels in the region. Likewise, the banking sectors’ activity appears solid, has sound financial balances and a high resistance against potential shocks, as well as it is providing to an increasing extent loans to the Albanian economy. In this context, the Governor emphasized that the Bank of Albania has contributed significantly to these developments, through its prudent monetary policy, through rigorous regulation and continuous supervision of the banking sector, as well as through promoting the development of financial markets and of payment systems. This institutional investment has provided the Albanian economy with a satisfactory monetary and financial stability.

In a long-term planning, the Governor emphasized that the inflation targeting regime and the free-floating exchange rate regime have functioned perfectly well and have helped Albania in coping with shocks and accelerating the convergence process. Also, Governor Sejko estimated that fiscal consolidation and convergence between macroeconomic policies remain the determining factors in the development of the countries of the region.

For his part, Governor Vujčić appreciated the ability of the countries of the Western Balkans region, and especially Albania, for coping with crises. He emphasized that these encouraging developments provide a solid platform for the economic growth and the convergence process with the European Union.

The two governors highlighted that the majority of the countries in the region, including Albania, are economically connected to the Euroarea and are financially exposed to it. Economic cycles are synchronized with those of the Euroarea and financial systems have a high degree of integration and dependence on the monetary, supervisory and regulatory policies adopted by the Euro area. Commending the progress made so far, Governor Vujčić emphasized the importance of continuous dialogue between economic regulators and offered the HNB’s support to carry this conversation to a higher level.

As part of the official visit of Governor Vujčić, the Bank of Albania organized at its premises a round-table with representatives of the banking system and senior officials of the Bank of Albania. At this table were discussed the latest economic developments, inflation in the region and in the EU, euroization of the economy and its respective challenges. Other important issues for the banking system were discussed during this event, such as the supervisory and regulatory measures adopted by the European Central Bank and the modernization of payment systems.

During his speech Mr Vujčić gave a description of the latest developments in the financial markets of the Euro area and the banking sector, focusing on the current trends of the monetary policy, on the performance of the financial markets in the Euroarea, as well as on their possible impacts on the countries of the Region.

Also, Governor Vujčić described the experience of the Croatian National Bank regarding all the stages it went through prior to joining the Euro area on 1 January 2023. In particular, he focused on the reforms undertaken from the CNB in regards to strengthening institutional capacities in order to successfully overcome the challenges springing from the membership in the Euro area.

In this meeting, Governor Sejko underlined the importance of banks’ engagement in the framework of the payment system digitalization, inviting them to provide their availability and contribution not only to minimize the waiting time of banks’ clients, but also to reduce the costs of these services.

Finally, the two governors also satisfied the interest of the attendees regarding the issues addressed during the meeting and the current challenges of central banks in the respective countries.

In the framework of this visit, both Governor Sejko and the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Mr Boris Vujčić were received in a courtesy visit by H.E. Edi Rama.

This is the visit of the Governor of the Croatian National Bank Mr Boris Vujčić in Albania.