Banks granted more than 110,000 new loans last year

2024-04-26 15:33:00, Ekonomi CNA

The banking sector disbursed 110,000 loans last year. Starting from 2023, Bank of Albania statistics provide for the first time information on the number of new loans disbursed by the banking sector, in addition to their value.

Although the lack of statistics for 2022 does not allow a comparison of the number of loans granted, what is observed during 2023 is a significant increase in the number of loans disbursed quarter after quarter.

The total number of loans disbursed during the fourth quarter reached almost 31 thousand, from approximately 24 thousand loans in the first quarter of the year.

In addition to an improving lending trend, this also reflects a kind of credit seasonality, especially in the business segment.

According to the Bank of Albania, the number of loans disbursed for businesses last year reached almost 42 thousand, for a total value of approximately 152 billion ALL.

Business loans accounted for approximately 38% of the total number of disbursed loans.

The average value of a business loan last year was ALL 3.63 million.

While the number of loans granted to individuals reached more than 68 thousand, for a total amount of approximately 77 billion ALL.

In number, loans to individuals make up about 62% of the total, while in value less than 34% of them.

The average value of a loan for individuals was about ALL 1.13 million.

Payment statistics also provide some indicative data on the progress of loan payments.

Last year, businesses made 241,000 loan installment payments, with an upward trend from about 25,500 to almost 33,000 payments in the last quarter. On average, businesses make about 20,000 loan payments per month.

However, it should be considered that the repayment structure of business loans is not always the same as that of individuals, where payments are usually made on a monthly basis.

In some cases, loan installment payments from businesses can be with a lower annual frequency, while a significant part of the portfolio is made up of overdrafts, which do not foresee a uniform periodic structure of principal payments.

While individuals last year made approximately 1.73 million loan installment payments, or an average of about 144,000 payments per month.

The performance of average monthly loan payments was decreasing from the first quarter (about 146 thousand payments per month) to the third quarter (less than 140 thousand payments per month). But, in the fourth quarter, the average monthly number of payments marked a strong increase to 149,000 payments.

Given that the average flow of new loan disbursements for individuals has less annual fluctuations compared to businesses, the increase in the number of payments during the last quarter can be considered as an improvement in their payment performance.

According to information from the Bank of Albania, the ratio of non-performing loans at the end of last year fell to 4.7%, from 5% at the end of 2022. This indicator has reached the lowest level since October 2008. /Monitor