TIRANA, February 11 /ATA/ Governor of the Bank of Albania Gent Sejko said that “The new SME financing program aims to promote lending to agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises.”

During an interview with journalists, Sejko announced that the second-tier commercial banks have started applying to the Central Bank for a total amount of 25 billion Lekë.

According to the Governor, this temporary program will offer a new chapter for farmers who in the past had great difficulty obtaining a loan due to the lack of collateral. “The term of the loans will range from 3 to 5 years, while the amount of the loan that an enterprise can receive will not exceed 25 million lekë. In order to reduce the cost of the loan, the interest rate for them will be several times lower than what is normally offered by second-tier banks. “If the program is successful, the Bank of Albania can increase the liquidity and the amount of this program,” Sejko said.