Bank of Albania granted customers deferred payments due to coronavirus

On 16 March, the Bank of Albania granted to individuals and entities unable to pay interest on loans a three-month delay in payments due to the situation in the country due to coronavirus. According to Albanian news agency Telegrafi, this decision in the credit institution commented as follows: In connection with the identification of the first cases of the COVID-19 virus, we (all participants in the financial market, including its regulators) faced the need to take urgent measures to contain and minimize possible negative consequences, not only for the health and well-being of society, but also for commodity and foreign exchange flows in the economy. The Government's decision to stop classes in educational institutions, measures to prevent mass accumulation of people, recommendations for working from home, interruption of a number of trade events, enhanced precautions that should be introduced mass, etc., will undoubtedly lead to a decline in the volume of activities of enterprises and income levels.