PRESS RELEASE
Decisions by the Supervisory Council, 5 February 2025

On 5 February 2025, in addition to the decision to keep the policy rate unchanged at 2.75%, as well as the overnight deposit and overnight loan rates at the Bank of Albania at 1.75% and 3.75%, respectively, the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania reviewed and decided to:

• Approve some amendments to the regulations “On Consumer Credit and Mortgage Credit” and “On Transparency for Banking and Financial Products and Services”

These amendments take place as a response from the Bank of Albania to the increased requirements for consumer protection, aiming to further reduce borrowing costs for consumer credit and to enhance transparency for these products, especially for non-banking financial institutions.

More specifically, the amendments to the regulation “On Consumer Credit and Mortgage Credit” include the reduction of costs imposed on consumers in instalment consumer credit contracts, primarily for smaller amounts. The amendments review the Bank of Albania’s methodology for calculating the Effective Interest Rate (EIR) for the consumer credit category with instalments ranging between ALL 0–200,000, which is expected to result in a lower EIR for this category. Additionally, part of the amendments introduces an obligation for consumers to pay the commissions charged by the entities at the time the consumer credit is granted, rather than having these costs be spread until the full repayment of credit.

On the other hand, the amendments to the regulation “On Transparency for Banking and Financial Products and Services” aim to increase transparency for consumers during the advertising phase of products and services. This will be achieved by standardizing the requirements for the entities subject to the regulation and by differentiating based on the typology of the product or service being advertised.  The amendments specify the elements that advertisements must contain; varying according to the advertised product; the forms of communication with consumers, as well as the measures the Bank of Albania may implement to take down or correct an advertisement in case it identifies any regulatory violations.

The Supervisory Council was also informed on the daily functional and operational activities of the Bank of Albania.