TIRANA, March 11 /ATA/ The Bank of Albania announces that, in January of this year, the indicator of non-performing loans increased to 4.88%, from 4.74% in December 2023.
According to BoA, the ratio of non-performing loans remains at controllable levels and this fluctuation is attributed to the slight contraction of the total loan portfolio for the economy during January, compared to December.
Referring to the economic indicators, BoA notes that, “the Albanian economy grew by approximately 3.1% in the first nine months of 2023. The tourism sector had a significant effect on the demand for goods and services. While it is believed that the small increase in interest rates by the Bank of Albania during the past year, but also the appreciation of the lek in the exchange rate, had an impact on keeping the non-performing loans ratio in check.
BoA emphasizes that keeping the interest rates unchanged is an optimistic outlook for the continuation of lending to the economy at a satisfactory rate, which is an important factor in keeping the specific ratio of non-performing loan portfolio at a low level.