The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko, reported on Friday to the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Employment, and Finance regarding the annual activity report of the Bank of Albania for 2025, where he emphasized that "the Albanian economy had a positive performance during the year we left behind."

During his speech, Sejko said that the mission of the Bank of Albania has remained unchanged: to safeguard price stability and support the financial stability of the country, as indispensable preconditions for sustainable, inclusive, and long-term economic growth.

“In this context, I am pleased to note at the outset of my remarks that the Bank of Albania has successfully delivered on these objectives. Our prudent monetary policy has preserved an environment of low and stable inflation, as reflected in well-functioning financial markets, contained risk premia, favorable financing conditions, and robust growth in credit to the private sector. In parallel, our regulatory, supervisory, and macro prudential policies have contributed to a further strengthening of the banking sector’s soundness. As a result, the financial stability of Albania has been further reinforced, the resilience of the banking system to potential shocks has increased, and financial intermediation has expanded at an accelerated pace, both in qualitative and quantitative terms,” Sejko said

He noted that the monetary and financial stability has enabled the Albanian economy to maintain its positive growth trajectory throughout 2025 as well. “The volume of economic activity, wages, and employment in the non-agricultural private sector recorded solid growth, supporting higher incomes and improved financial positions for both Albanian businesses and households,” the governor said, adding that in parallel, the main indicators of the country’s economic: the current account deficit, budget deficit, public debt, and external debt declined, while the Bank of Albania’s international reserves increased. “These developments suggest that the Albanian economy rests on sound growth fundamentals and that its resilience to potential shocks has strengthened further.”

“Alongside the fulfilment of our primary mandate, the Bank of Albania continued to advance the implementation of its legal responsibilities and institutional commitments,” Sejko said. “I would like to highlight the progress made in the further development of the payment system through the implementation of more advanced technological platforms, the enhancement of the regulatory framework, and the reduction of transaction costs. Albania’s membership in SEPA and the commencement of transactions in October 2025 marked the culmination of these reforms.”

“I would also like to underscore that the Bank of Albania has worked consistently to fulfil its institutional responsibilities under the European integration process, both through ongoing dialogue with European partners in the field of economic and monetary policy, and through the fulfilment of its obligations within the five chapters of alignment with the Acquis where it is involved,” the governor noted.  

According to Sejko, economic activity in Albania grew by 3.8%, supported by sound private-sector balance sheets, a favorable confidence environment, higher tourism revenues, favorable financing conditions, and credit growth. “These factors underpinned the expansion of private consumption, investment, and services exports. At the same time, fiscal policy remained consolidated, while exports of goods declined. From a sectoral perspective, economic growth was reflected in the expansion of activity in the services and construction sectors, while agricultural production and industrial activity continued to contract.”

Sejko also added that the structural improvement in the external position of the economy in recent years has been reflected in the relatively rapid and continuous appreciation of the Lek exchange rate. Although at a slower pace, this trend was also present during 2025.