Lending to businesses decreased in January 2016

Tirane, Albania
15 March, 2016

Statistics published by the Bank of Albania show that lending to businesses decreased by 4.9% in January of this year, compared to the same period in 2015. According to the bank, the total amount of lending to businesses during January 2016 reached ALL 385 billion.

The lending amount decreased for businesses in various sectors, except from the extractive industry and the agriculture sector. Statistics show that lending for these two sectors increased slightly in January 2016. In annual terms, lending for the processing industry sector decreased by 5.4% while for the construction sector decreased by 5%. As for the energy sector, lending decreased by 9%, although the bank says lending to this sector increased in the past years, except from January of this year.

The Bank’s report says lending to businesses decreased due to the low demand for loans from businesses but also due to the increase of procedures for lending by private banks.

News source: ATA
Photo credits: Simon Cunningham / Flickr