Lending to business soared 18% in the first nine months 2017

Governor of the Bank of Albania Gent Sejko underlined on Wednesday that lending to business is showing evident signs of improvement in recent months.

Particularly important, according to him, is the growth in demand for lending in the corporate segment.

“A positive aspect of the third quarter was the growth in demand for loans, especially in the corporate segment, as the upward trend in loans was mainly due to growth in the retail segment. The lending standards to private sector have also eased, although they continue to remain relatively conservative,” Sejko stated.

Statistics show that the new loans to business marked a significant increase this year compared to last year.

For the first nine months of the year, the banking system provided nearly ALL 201 billion of loans to businesses, a value that is approximately 18% higher compared to the same period a year earlier.

However, the total figure may partially include restructured loans, but there is still a clear tendency for growth in lending, especially as far as the third quarter is concerned.

Detailed data show that lending to businesses is growing in both Albanian Lek and in Euro, respectively by 22% and approximately 24%.

A glimpse into the data shows that growth continues to be dominated by short-term loans, in the form of overdraft or financing for working capital.

However, even the new loans for investment in machinery and equipment or real estate by businesses has reported a very encouraging performance.

Albania’s steady economic growth is fueling the market demand for financing, while the gradual reduction of non-performing loans is somewhat releasing the offer of banks, which in recent years have been particularly conservative when it comes to lending to big business.

SCAN

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