November 9 (SeeNews) - The limited access to credit of Albanian companies and the low level of financial inclusion of the population are two major obstacles hindering the growth of the country's financial market, central bank governor Gent Sejko has said.
The financial market remains dominated by the banking system and relevant developments, with banks accounting for about 90% of the total assets of the financial system, equivalent to 92% of Albania's GDP, whereas the rest of the financial sector shares only 10%, Sejko said in his address to the annual conference 2017 of Bank of Albania published on the bank's website on Thursday.
"The dominance of the banking segment has naturally led to a higher level of concentration of financial products and services in its favour. More than 80% of resident investments in the financial system are in the form of deposits and current accounts in banks. Only little more than 12% are in the form of government securities, whereas the rest, around 6.5%, are invested in investment or private pension funds, accounting for only 0.1% of total financial system assets," Sejko stressed.
Albania registered a satisfactory performance in terms of economic recovery in the first half of 2017 and it is expected to strengthen further in the third quarter, following the positive trend of the economies in Southeast Europe, the governor added.
“In the previous quarter, the economic and financial situation in Albania was set on a path of constant improvement. Growth and employment indicators followed an upward curve and expectations for 2018 remain positive."
Consumption and foreign investments have contributed positively to the economic activity and are expected to generate further increase in productivity and competitiveness.
When it comes to Albania's trade deficit, the income from the export of goods, and especially of services contributed to the reduction of the current deficit and the strengthening of the external position of the economy.
“The effects of the monetary policy have maintained the stimulating trend, aiming at closing the negative gaps of prices and output,” the central bank governor noted.