PRESS RELEASE
Decisions by the Supervisory Council, 3 April 2019

Today, on 3 April 2019, the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania reviewed and decided to:

• Approve the Financial Stability Statement and Report, 2018 H2

The Financial Stability Report is an important periodic document prepared by the Bank of Albania, whose main purpose is to identify and assess risks to the financial system and its infrastructure. The Financial Stability Statement, whose half-yearly release is a legal requirement set out in the Law “On the Bank of Albania”, prefaces the Report.

In this Report, the Bank of Albania assesses that developments in the real economy and financial market in 2018 H2 sustained the expansion of the financial system's activity and banking sector in Albania. The changes taking place in the banking sector structure were accompanied by an increase in the share of domestic capital and reduction in the number of banks. This process is expected to contribute positively to the performance of financial intermediation.  The exposure of the banking sector to the risks of the activity remained contained, as non-performing loans continued to decline, market risk indicators did not change during the period, and liquidity indicators were high. The banking sector's resilience to these risks is assessed as robust, while its activity is profitable and its capitalization is at a good level. In light of these developments, the Bank of Albania deems that the banking sector remains stable.

The full Financial Stability Report will be published shortly on Bank of Albania's website: http://www.bankofalbania.org/

The Supervisory Council reviewed additional information related to the daily operational and functional activity of the Bank of Albania.