TIRANA, March 29 – Currency outside banks has undergone a sharp increase in the past couple of years as deposit rates have plunged to historic low levels, giving rise to speculations about a rise in informal lending and money being used in electoral campaigns non-transparently.
Central bank data shows currency outside depository corporations rose to 249.2 billion lek (€1.82 billion) in 2016, up 8.1 percent or 18.6 billion lek (€136 million) compared to 2015.
A considerable part of the money is estimated to have been withdrawn from banks due to unfavourable deposit rates of below 1 percent and used in risky informal lending and even investment in online trading platforms where unlicensed operators offer attractive rates of return.
In a quite usual pre-electoral trend, the run-up to the June 2017 general elections is expected to bring a sharp increase in money outside banks, a considerable amount of which goes for campaigning for political parties and candidates.
The run-up to the June 21, 2015 local elections was accompanied by a sharp increase in currency outside banks, according to central bank data.
Data shows currency outside depository corporations rose to 226.5 billion lek (€1.65 bln) in June 2015, up 9.2 billion lek (€67.3 mln) compared to April that year, registering a big increase.
