Credit to the economy "accelerated" in October

2025-11-26 18:03:50, Ekonomi CNA

Credit to the economy further emphasized the upward trend during October.

According to data from the Bank of Albania, new credit was worth 35.1 billion lek, an increase of 30.6% compared to October last year.

In total, for the first 10 months of 2025, the banking sector has provided a total of almost 342 billion lek in loans to the economy, an increase of 11.1% compared to the same period last year.

The business segment is showing a recovery in borrowing in the second half of the year.

For the month of October, new business loans reached 20 billion lek, also the highest for this year and 24.3% more compared to October last year.

For the first 10 months of 2025, the banking sector disbursed a total of 226.7 billion lek in new loans to businesses, with an annual growth of 3.6%. New business loans are showing slower growth compared to 2024, but with an improving trend in recent months.

Lending to individuals is growing at a faster pace.

According to the Bank of Albania, in October, banks granted 10.2 billion lek in loans to individuals, an increase of 22.2% compared to October last year.

For the entire 10-month period, new loans to individuals reached 105.6 billion lek, up 23.3% compared to the same period a year ago. Lending to individuals continues to show positive performance, both in financing the purchase of real estate and consumption.

Since July of this year, several restrictive measures imposed by the Bank of Albania regarding housing loans have come into force. Banks must adhere to certain risk management criteria, related to the debt-to-income ratio, as well as the loan-to-value ratio of the property being financed. However, the effect of these measures does not seem to be very significant at the moment and loans to individuals continue to increase.

The growth of the total loan portfolio, measured as surplus, also accelerated during October. The value of the loan portfolio for the economy reached 906.1 billion lek, an increase of approximately 4.3 billion lek compared to September. On an annual basis, credit continues to maintain double-digit growth rates, up 11.5% compared to the same period last year.

The growth of the portfolio is also largely supported by the individual segment, with an annual growth of close to 17.8%. While for businesses, the growth remains at lower levels, at 8.7% compared to the same period last year. / Monitor.al