The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko, held a meeting on Tuesday with a delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), headed by Aleksandra Vukosavljevic, Director for Financial Institutions for the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Also present at this meeting were Ekaterina Solovova, EBRD Resident Representative in Albania, as well as other representatives of the two institutions.

Initially, Governor Sejko introduced the EBRD representatives to the main economic and financial developments in the country.

Sejko stated that “the Bank of Albania’s forecasts estimate that the Albanian economy will continue its positive growth trend. The financial system and the banking sector continue to develop sustainably. Lending has grown at a good pace, and its quality remains good.”

The Governor also described the progress in the modernization of the payment infrastructure and the alignment with global best practices in the financial sector.

In this regard, the Bank of Albania has been committed to pursuing and implementing technological and regulatory innovations towards a safer, faster and more standardized financial system for all users.

Further, Governor Sejko praised the excellent relations of Albania with the EBRD and thanked its representatives for the valuable contribution made to Albania.

He also expressed his gratitude for the contribution that the EBRD, the donors, and the experts selected by it, have made through various projects, to the preparation for climate change and the increase of the technical and regulatory capacities of the Bank of Albania, in its function of supervision and emergency intervention.

These projects included: the preparation and implementation of the self-assessment, in the process of verifying the equivalence of the Bank of Albania's regulatory and supervisory framework with that of the European Union and the assessment at the regional level of the emergency intervention framework, with a particular focus on the establishment of capital requirements and accepted liabilities, as well as the development of the methodology for one of the emergency intervention instruments.

In this regard, the EBRD representative assessed that the progress made by the Bank of Albania in the modernization of payment systems and digitalization will also serve to further formalize the economy and increase access to financing by less financed sectors.

The EBRD representatives expressed their utmost appreciation for the cooperation with the Bank of Albania in the above projects and their readiness to expand cooperation in other directions.

Vukosavljevic added that the EBRD will continue to remain a key partner, providing support in key sectors of the country's economy, with a focus on helping Albanian businesses become greener and more digital, as well as empowering young entrepreneurs.