TIRANA, May 13 /ATA/ – Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Wednesday that the doubling of lending by commercial banks over the past five years shows that Albanian economy is in a healthy condition and has strong potential for further growth.
Speaking at the signing ceremony of a new partnership between the government, the banking sector and businesses under the national SME financing programme “Double Your Business”, Rama pointed to a sharp increase in credit activity and a steep decline in non-performing loans.
The agreement provides for 250 million euros in low-interest lending and 30 million euros in sovereign guarantees to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Rama said total lending in Albania has risen from around 5 billion euros five years ago to 10 billion euros today.
“We are seeing a doubling of the economy’s financing capacity by second-tier banks, which clearly demonstrates through facts that the economy is healthy and has significant potential for further growth,” Rama said.
He added that non-performing loans ratio, once viewed as a major risk to the economy, has fallen to “negligible levels”.
“A decade ago, bad loans accounted for nearly 25%,” he said.
Rama also noted that new lending over the past two years alone had approached 5 billion euros, describing the figure as “extraordinary”.
“This is yet another reason to take a courageous step forward, thanks to this cooperation and thanks to the full willingness of the Bank of Albania to support economic growth through the expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.
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