Development Banks have been a well-known reality in Europe and the world for many years. Most countries in the region and Europe have built such a bank, including Germany, Italy, and France, while it is soon expected to be established in Albania, Scan TV reported on Saturday.

In the Western Balkans region, the countries that have a development bank are Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and most recently Montenegro. Like Albania, Montenegro prepared a draft law last year for the establishment of a development bank, where, unlike other models in Europe and Albania, citizens' savings in deposits with this bank will not be guaranteed by the state.

Kosovo does not have such a bank, while the Development Bank of Serbia went bankrupt in 2012, due to corruption, financial mismanagement, and misuse of funds through the distribution of the latter for political interests. However, instead of a development bank, these countries have development funds dedicated to financing small and medium-sized enterprises.

From a comparison between the law on the Development Bank of North Macedonia and the draft law on the Albanian Development Bank, we note that the latter requires that a minimum of 51% of the shares be owned by the state, while the remaining shares can be owned by other recognized international or domestic institutions. Meanwhile, in the Development Bank of North Macedonia, the state is the only shareholder.

Without exception, all development banks have the same objectives, which include financing the development of trade associations, promoting exports, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, financing infrastructure, supporting regional development, and financing environmental protection projects. In critical periods, such as that of COVID-19, the Development Bank of North Macedonia managed to avoid the bankruptcy of thousands of small enterprises in the country.