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Lending to the economy improved in February

2026-03-30 20:35:14, Ekonomi CNA

Lending to the economy returned to growth in February. According to statistics from the Bank of Albania, during February the banking sector granted 30.3 billion lek in new loans. This amount is 5.7% higher compared to February last year.

However, due to the decline in January, so far, the progressive balance of the first two months of the year appears to be declining. In the January-February period, new credit to the economy was 58.6 billion lek, 3.3% lower than compared to the same period in 2025.

So far, the decline in credit in the first months of 2026 is due to the segment of individuals and public corporations, while credit to private enterprises appears to be increasing.

During the January-February period, new loans to individuals amounted to 18.3 billion lek, 9% less than a year earlier. It seems that loans to individuals are slowing down somewhat, after reaching new record levels last year.

In mid-2025, several direct restrictive measures of the Bank of Albania came into force, which attempted to partially tighten lending standards for the purchase of housing by individuals. During the second half of 2025, these measures did not have any significant effect and housing loans continued to increase. In the first two months of this year, loan values ????appear to be declining slightly, but it will take more time to understand whether this is a genuine trend in this direction.

Credit to public enterprises also decreased to only 300 million lekë, about 10 times less compared to the same period last year. However, the performance of this segment is generally determined by sporadic borrowing by individual enterprises, mainly those in the energy sector.

In the private companies segment, lending has shown positive performance, with 40 billion lek in new loans granted during the period. Compared to a year ago, new business loans have increased by 7.3%.

During February, the total value of the loan portfolio, expressed as outstanding balance, also returned to growth, after slowing down in January. The loan portfolio for the economy reached the value of 946.9 billion lek, an increase of more than 7.5 billion lek compared to January. On an annual basis, loan to the economy continues to grow in double digits, by 11.6%.

The highest growth continues to be recorded in the individual segment, where the loan portfolio is growing by 17.7% annually. Meanwhile, loans to private enterprises are growing by 8.7% annually.

Lending to the economy continues to show good rates, but, nevertheless, geopolitical tensions and concerns about a new wave of inflation may bring ongoing challenges. Increased inflation would inevitably lead to an increase in interest rates and would affect the solvency of borrowers, creating premises for a slowdown in lending and a deterioration in the quality of the existing portfolio./ Monitor.al