TIRANA, May 19 / ATA/- In Q1 2019, the lending activity of banks has confirmed positive developments noted at the end of 2018.
The Bank of Albania official data show that credit to private sector rose by ALL 13 billion in nominal terms for these three months, recording an annual growth of 4.5%. Over the same period, the credit stock relative to GDP is estimated to have improved by 0.4 percentage points to 35.8%.
Taking into account the annual appreciation of lek against currencies, the annual growth of credit to private sector remained close to 6%. However, the return of these short-term developments to a trend of sustained growth remains subject to further reduction of credit risk, the more active approach of banks to lending, and the sustained recovery of demand for loans, in line with economic activity in the country.
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