Interest rates for lek-denominated loans drop

TIRANA, Aug. 31 – Interest rates for new loans in the national currency lek during the second quarter of this year averaged at 11.96 percent, down 0.95 percentage points compared to the first quarter of 2011. The majority of new loans in lek were issued to meet short term needs for businesses. A considerable increase has also been registered for lek-denominated home loans considering the depreciation of lek against the euro, which is the currency used in construction industry.
Interest rates for loans in Euro slightly increased by 0.15 percentage points to 7.36 percent.
Meanwhile, interest rates for new deposits increased for both lek and euro-denominated deposits. Interest rates for Lek deposits rose by 0.22 percentage points to an average of 4.59 percent while for euro by 0.08 percentage points to 2.23 percent.
Central bank data show deposits rose by 15.6 percent year-on-year in April-May 2011. Deposits during these two months rose by 12.6 billion lek of which 7.5 billion in the national currency and 5.1 billion in foreign currency.
Meanwhile, credit to the private sector in April-May 2011 rose by 11.4 percent.