Businesses, loans for "survival" and not for strategic growth/ Equipment loans expand significantly in August, but new businesses remain outside
Albanian businesses continue to borrow mainly to cover immediate financial needs rather than for long-term investments. Bank of Albania data for the period 2016–2025 show that the majority of new loans to private non-financial corporations taken out in August were used for overdraft and working capital, indicating ongoing liquidity difficulties.
In 2025, the total amount of new loans taken out by businesses reaches around 30.9 billion lek. Overdrafts account for a significant share, reaching over 7.6 billion lek, while working capital loans account for around 6.4 billion lek. This orientation shows that companies focus more on ensuring daily turnover than on expanding their activity. So, borrowing is not mainly for strategic expansion, but for survival and maintaining daily turnover.
A special element for the last year is the significant increase in loans for equipment purchases, which amount to over 12 billion lek, signaling a wave of investments in the modernization of technology and equipment. In contrast, loans for real estate, which in previous years reached very high levels, in 2025 have fallen significantly to around 4.6 billion lek.
However, what is most striking is that loans for opening new businesses and for investments in financial instruments are almost absent throughout the analyzed period. Loans for opening a business also occupy a modest share of the loan portfolio for private enterprises in the country.
Usually, the opening of new businesses is rarely supported by commercial banks due to the lack of business history that allows the bank to assess performance to assess stability and ability to repay loans.
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