TIRANA, Feb. 9 – Newly elected Bank of Albania governor Gent Sejko is optimistic the central bank will strengthen its role in preserving financial stability and stimulating economic growth.
In a presentation with the central bank staff, Sejko, who was consensually voted as the new governor, pledged transparency, team work and professionalism in achieving targets and handling challenges.
“The Bank of Albania is an institution which for more than two decades has contributed to the country’s financial stability and economic growth. It is an institution which has gradually grown in years before achieving its current international standards. We will work together as a team in order to successfully achieve all our targets. We are all aware of the current problems and challenges,” he told staff in the presence of Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta.
“We are somehow pleased that the Albanian economy was not severely affected by the crisis, it survived and successfully progressed. We are also aware that we have a well-capitalized and liquid banking system and will make use of this to give a new impetus to the economy,” he added.
“We will also carry out our duties in a more transparent and accountable way to the public and Parliament,” pledged Sejko.
Parliament Speaker Ilir Meta hailed Sejko’s consensual election in Parliament as a milestone for the Albanian economy and the Bank of Albania.
“I would like to stress that it does not often happen in the Albanian Parliament to have a consensual vote, but this moment shows the accountability of all political forces to support the Bank of Albania and give it a further push in strengthening its institutional independence which is very important for the integrity of the bank but also increasing its reliability and boosting the domestic economic and financial environment,” said Meta.
Sejko who was elected by 105 votes as the new central bank governor, returns to the Bank of Albania after having worked there as supervisory inspector in the 1993-1995 period and with huge experience in several commercial banks. He holds a degree from the Faculty of Economy in Tirana and a Master’s degree in international accounting and financial management from the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
Gent Sejko replaces Ardian Fullani who was arrested and sacked last September after a Euro 5 million theft scandal. He is an experienced banker nominated by President Bujar Nishani and will head the country’s central bank for the next seven years with an option to be re-elected for a second term.
The central bank’s immediate challenges include returning inflation to its 3 percent target which is estimated to positively influence on consumption and private investments, two key drivers of Albania’s economic growth. Stimulating credit growth, currently at sluggish rate of 2 to 3 percent and handling non-performing loans at around a quarter are two other challenges the central bank and the banking system it supervises face.
Sejko, 45, a banker with 20 years of experience in the country’s banking system, recently served as the deputy director of the Albanian subsidiary of France’s Societe Generale.
President Nishani said he selected Sejko for his proper education, experience and moral integrity.
Albania’s central bank has made a another cut to the key interest rate slashing it to a new historic low of 2 percent in a bid to accelerate economic growth and prevent deflation risks after inflation rate hit a three-year low of 0.7 percent last December.
The central bank has been continuously cutting key rates to promote consumption and private investments by lower interest rates and discouraging deposits, but the moves have mostly served government by securing lower interest rates for its internal borrowing through lower T-bill yields.
Since August 2011 when the key rate was at 5.25 percent, the central bank has made 13 consecutive slashes by 0.25 percentage points.
