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Construction has become one of the main sectors supporting economic growth in Albania in recent years. Some of the factors that have boosted the growth are: the increase of residential projects, the continuation of postearthquake reconstruction works and public investments, mainly in road construction. A VEC model will be presented in this paper that uses bank credit for real estate as a cointegrated variable with GDP growth, as the construction sector in Albania occupies a very important role in the economy. The objective of this model is to identify the shortterm and long-term causal relationship between this credit activity and economic growth in Albania. The analysis by subject and purpose of credit use shows that real estate investment credit for individuals occupies the largest share of the total credit portfolio, followed by real estate credit granted to businesses. From the results of the econometric model it was concluded that credit to the real estate sector has a positive effect on long-term economic growth. The construction sector is one of the sectors that contribute the most to GDP and, at the same time, to the growth of the banks' loan portfolio. Lending to this sector, according to the results of this model, has a positive influence on the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explain some current considerations and approaches about the credit activity in Albania compared to the other countries in the Western Balkan's region in terms of bank-specific indicators. During 2020 and in the first half of 2021, the evolution of bank credit in the Western Balkan countries continued to be positive, influenced by monetary easing, support for credit risk reduction and other support policies offered by central banks. The balance sheet of banks in the region has improved over the period, and the non-performing loan rate has declined compared to a year ago in most countries. Among the various lending measures, the study of credit activity will be focused on bank credit (loans and advances) to the private sector, one of the most important indicators of bank development. Using a qualitative and quantitative analysis, the main objective of this paper is to generate and explain through a descriptive and graphical analysis, the evolution of the bank credit to the private sector for the six countries of the Western Balkans, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Countries in the region have benefited from a substantial inflow of foreign funds and cross-border loans before the crisis. When the financial crisis broke out, credit growth declined dramatically and did not begin to recover, in part due to the banking sector's reversal in external financing. The COVID-19 pandemic also brought a sudden negative revision of expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credit markets play a key role in the economic cycle of the advanced economies. The main objective of this paper is to assess, through an empirical analysis, if there is a link between the evolution of credit activity and economic growth in the current economic context. The econometric model used to determine the relationship between variables is that of multiple linear regression using a total of 120 panel observations for the years 2000-2019. A sample of data consisting of six developed countries such as Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom was used to make the following model. The dependent variable, which determines economic growth, is calculated as the annual percentage growth rate to GDP. The results of the econometric model showed that there is a statistically significant direct relationship between economic growth and the factors: bank credit to the private sector, the real interest rate and ROE. On the other hand, the results of the econometric model showed that there is a statistically significant indirect correlation between the dependent variable and the determinants of bank credit to government and public enterprises and non-performing loans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]