Lending to the economy continued to grow at a fast pace in April. According to the statistics of the Bank of Albania, the new loan granted by the banking sector reached the value of Lek 34.2 billion, an increase of 50% compared to the same period of the previous year.

For the entire first four months of the year, the value of the new loan disbursed reached the value of Lek 117 billion, increasing by 35% compared to the same period last year.

New credit to the economy is at historic highs for this time of year. The main contribution to growth continues to be given by the loan in the domestic currency Lek, which for the first four months of the year has almost increased by 64% compared to the same period a year ago.

The weight of the new loan in lek to the total has reached 61%, from 50% that was a year ago.

According to customer segments, the main influence on the rapid growth of lending in the first months of this year is given by business. The figures show that for April, new loans for businesses increased by 78% compared to April last year. For the entire 4-month period of 2024, the new loan for businesses reached Lek 82.9 billion, increasing by 60% compared to the same period of 2023.

The banking sector is showing a growing interest in lending to businesses, especially major corporate projects, including most major public-private partnership infrastructure investment projects.

For April, lending to individuals also returned to rapid growth, with 49% more compared to the same period last year. For the first four months of the year, the banking sector disbursed almost Lek 34 billion in loans to individuals, an increase of 21.7% compared to the same period a year ago.

The rapid growth of credit this year seems to be based on optimistic perceptions about the performance of the economy, which is maintaining satisfactory growth rates, supported especially by the real estate and tourism sectors. The keeping of low interest rates by the Bank of Albania also seems to have an impact on lending rates. Albania has one of the lowest basic rates in Europe, at the level of 3.25%.

On the other hand, new credit does not represent new flows in all cases but also includes the renewal of existing business credit lines or the transfer of existing loans from one bank to another.

However, the increase in credit is also evident in the performance of the total portfolio or its surplus. At the end of April, the loan portfolio for the economy reached the value of Lek 771 billion, with an increase of Lek 7.5 billion compared to February. On an annual basis, credit growth jumped to 8.5% compared to the same period a year ago, while at the end of March, the annual growth was 7.3%.

In the individuals segment, the loan portfolio is growing by 10.6% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, for businesses, growth remains at lower levels, with 7.1% on an annual basis. It must be said, however, that this is partly due to the higher share of foreign currency loans in the business portfolio.