Banking supervision mission document

Approved by Decision No. 71, dated 13.10.2010 of the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania

The supervisory function is carried out by the Bank of Albania, as the central bank, pursuant to the Law "On the Bank of Albania”, No. 8269, dated 23.12.1997 and the Law “On Banks in the Republic of Albania", No. 9662, dated 18.12.2006.

Supervision Mission

In view of fulfilling its legal responsibilities as the supervisory authority of banks and other entities that carry out financial activities licensed by the central bank, the Bank of Albania:

  • aims at ensuring sound banking activities by formulating and implementing policies and an adequate and flexible regulatory framework, which is in line with the development dynamics in the country, in order to safeguard the soundness of banks, the stability of the banking system and broader, prevent crises in the banking sector and protect the depositors;
  • influences on safeguarding the banking system’s stability and broader, through the monitoring of developments in the market and recommendation of necessary measures, so that the supervised entities adjust to these developments and be administered according to the best practices;
  • promotes market discipline by requiring higher transparency for the banking and financial products and services;
  • influences on maintaining fair competition among the supervised entities and aims at providing equal treatment of the licensed entities and their customers, in compliance with the respective supervisory policies and the effective rules. In this context, it is guided by the principle that the same kinds of financial risks and other facts relevant to regulation are subject to same rules across all market segments, in order to limit the scope for regulatory arbitrage.

The Bank of Albania carries out its supervisory function by:

a) continuously developing and improving the regulatory and supervisory framework, ensuring that it complies with the EU Directives for an effective supervision, the country’s specifics and in line with best practices;

b) regulating the entry into the market of potential banks, shareholders and administrators that have a good reputation based on verifiable and reliable sources of information;

c) conducting an effective and proactive supervisory process by implementing principles of a risk-oriented supervision through on-site examinations and off-site surveillance of the licensed entities’ indicators, and taking corrective measures to solve different concerns;

d) cooperating with the supervised entities, other financial institutions in the country and foreign supervisory authorities and foreign banks, which operate in the Republic of Albania through their branches and subsidiaries.

In meeting its supervisory function requirements, the Bank of Albania aims at the highest levels of integrity, professionalism, efficiency, transparency and ongoing improvement of its supervisory capacities.