IMF says Albania less threatened by possible worsening of Greek Crisis

A possible escalation of the Greek crisis may have a less negative effect upon Albania's economy in comparison with other Balkan countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday.

Some Balkan countries may be affected by the worsening of the Greek debt crisis through trade and banks connected with Greece. Should the situation in Greece worsen, it could lead to non-reliability in the financial sector, exit of deposits and pressure on the local currencies of the Balkan countries, the IMF said in its latest regional financial report for the Southeast, Central and East Europe.

Compared with other regional states, Albania is in a better position regarding the indicator of loans to banks with Greek capital, as private Greek-owned banks in Albania do not depend much on the capital of their main branches in Greece.

Also, banks with Greek capital comprise only about 17 percent of all private banks in Albania, down by 6 percentage points from four years ago, the report said.

According to the IMF data, Albania ranked third after Bulgaria and Macedonia in terms of trade with Greece. Endi