To read, click Recommendation Paper.

Tirana, 15 November 2017: Representatives from the factoring industry in Albania raised some relevant recommendations to authorities and other stakeholders on required actions needed to improve this sector. These recommendations have been prepared by the representatives of the ICC Albania Commission on International Trade and Investment based on the results of the survey conducted to banks and factoring companies, in cooperation with EBRD, during the period July-August 2017.

Factoring is considered to be a product designed to offer financing to SMEs, but is also available for other businesses and as an instrument available to finance trade. SMEs are an important contributor to Albanian economy as they constitute the majority of businesses in the economy.

A few banks offer factoring among their products and services. Both factoring companies and banks suffer from inferior product offerings and the demand for factoring is relatively low. The enhancement of business conditions in respect to supply-demand sides of factoring remains essential for the growth of this sector in Albania, such as: review and improvement of the legal, fiscal and regulatory frameworks, development of product awareness and knowledge sharing, improvement of human resources skills through well-designed technical assistance programs and availability of trade finance programs for SMEs.