Joint IMF-WB mission concludes visit to Albania

TIRANA, July 24 – A joint IMF-World Bank mission concluded last weekend a three-day visit in Albania meeting the country’s top financial authorities just after the June 23 general elections when appeals for a renewed deal with the IMF have increased following the Socialist Party’s victory and the critical situation of Albania’s public finances. Senior Socialist Party officials said they will closely cooperate with the IMF and the World Bank after meeting officials of the international financial institutions who are expected to issue a report on Albania next October. During their stay in Albania, the joint mission met central bank governor Ardian Fullani, Finance Minister Ridvan Bode, the head of the Financial Supervisory Authority Enekeleda Shehi and Socialist Party official in charge of the party programe Ilir Beqja. The joint mission did not hold a press conference and no details were made public.
After eight years, the IMF is expected to assess Albania’s banking system which despite handling the financial crisis successfully has been suffering a sharp rise in non-performing loans, currently standing at 24 percent. The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of a country’s financial sector. The joint IMF-World Bank mission which visited Albania from July 17 to 19 came at a time when the Socialist Party expected to take over next September has announced it intends to re-establish relations with the IMF, an initiative which has also been hailed by the World Bank, but divided experts, some whom oppose the IMF’s return because of its austerity measures.
Incoming Prime Minister Edi Rama says he intends to hire an international company to audit the country’s finances. The International Monetary Fund ended its mission to Albania in January 2009 after assisting Albania since the early 1990s. Prime Minister Sali Berisha said at that time that the exit of the IMF signals the end of the transition period for Albania and that Albania can economically stand on its own feet now.