TIRANA, October 16 /ATSH/ – Minister of Economy and Innovation Delina Ibrahimaj visited a bank branch today that had been damaged during the violent protests of the past few days. She reassured citizens regarding the safety of their savings and the stability of the banking system.
Ibrahimaj stated that more than 15 bank branches have been vandalized by acts of violence—facilities where citizens receive their salaries, conduct transactions and pay their bills.
“Over 15 bank branches have been affected by the violence of the last few days—places where people receive their salaries, carry out transactions and pay their bills. In our daily lives, we rely on the services that banks provide,” the minister said.
Ibrahimaj emphasized that the damage to these branches does not compromise the security of the deposits, as they are part of a well-capitalized and supervised financial system.
“I want to assure all Albanians that their savings are safe. The money is not kept in the drawers of bank branches; rather, they are held within a sound financial system that is both supervised and well-capitalized,” she stated. The minister accused the organizers of the acts of violence of aiming—in her view—to spread panic and destabilize the Albanian economy. She stated that these efforts would not succeed and reminded the pyramid scheme crisis of 1997.
“To those organizing the daily violence, I say that they will fail in their attempt to destabilize the Albanian economy. They cannot repeat the scenario of 1997, with ‘Sude’ and the pyramid schemes,” said Ibrahimaj.
The minister emphasized that ensuring financial stability and maintaining public confidence in the banking system is the priority.
“Albanians do not want violence. Albanians do not want chaos. And Albania belongs to the Albanians,” she concluded. /gj.m/j.p/p.s./
