The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko, met on Thursday with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, headed by Anke Weber, head of the Mission for Albania. The purpose of the Mission's visit to Albania is to hold talks with the Albanian authorities within the framework of Article IV.

The discussions focused on the latest economic and financial developments in the country, as well as their future perspective; the monetary policy followed by the Bank of Albania to guarantee price stability; as well as the measures taken to preserve and strengthen the health of the banking sector and the financial stability of the country.

Initially, Governor Sejko introduced the interlocutors to the latest developments in the local economy, where he emphasized that the main indicators of its economic, monetary, and financial stability are in a positive development trend. Referring to the latest data from INSTAT, the Albanian economy grew 4% during the second half of the year. This increase is mainly attributed to the healthy financial balances of businesses and households, the stimulating financial environment, as well as the increase in income.

Also, the Governor emphasized that the monetary policy followed by the Bank of Albania has had a positive impact on maintaining the country's monetary and financial balances, where the gradual and careful normalization of the stance of monetary policy has made it possible to reduce inflationary pressures.

Focusing on the performance of the banking sector, the Governor stated that credit for the private sector continued to record positive growth rates during the third quarter of the year, and its annual growth was at the level of 16.8%, where crediting in the local currency leads. An important indicator of the health of the banking sector is the decrease in the level of non-performing loans, to 4.58%, in September.

During the meeting, Governor Sejko emphasized the challenges faced by the local economy. In this context, he underlined the importance of following careful and coordinated monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.

For their part, representatives of the International Monetary Fund expressed their appreciation for the monetary policy followed by the Bank of Albania and for its important contribution to monetary and financial stability. Also, they underlined the positive role that the free exchange rate regime had in withstanding shocks and emphasized the need for its continuation in the future. IMF representatives positively evaluated the ongoing supervisory and regulatory work of the Bank of Albania, as well as its impact on the positive indicators of the banking sector.

At the end of the meeting, the participants confirmed the very good cooperation relations between the Bank of Albania and the International Monetary Fund in the framework of IMF missions, technical assistance, and beyond.