The governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko and bank representatives held a concluding online meeting with the World Bank Financial Sector Mission in Albania. The meeting was attended also by the Permanent Representative of the World Bank office in Albania, Emanuel Salinas.

Discussions focused on the performance of the Albanian economy, developments in the financial system, the impact of the pandemic on economic performance, developments in payment systems and emergency intervention, as well as expectations for economic recovery in the coming period.

At the beginning of the meeting, Governor Sejko presented the latest developments in the banking sector. He stressed that the banking system is well capitalized, with liquidity, improved profitability, while the non-performing loan rate has continued to decline.

Furthermore, regarding the developments in the payment systems and financial education, Governor Sejko discussed with the mission the latest developments related to the National Strategy for Small Value Payments (2018-2023) as well as the efforts for drafting a “National Strategy for Financial Education”.

The meeting focused also on measures taken so far by the Bank of Albania regarding the drafting of legal acts and rules which aim to transpose the European Union Directive "On Payment Account" with the main aim of creating a "basic account" that will promote financial inclusion of the population.

Further, the discussions focused on the field of emergency intervention and specifically on the operation of the regulatory framework aligned with that of the European Union.

The representatives of the World Bank Mission assessed as quite successful the policies pursued by the Bank of Albania both in response to the situation created by Covid-19, as well as in the continuous contribution it has given in reducing NPLs, in improving of the regulatory framework, and its approximation to the best international standards.