Prof. Dr. Artur Ribaj, Lecturer and Financial Markets Consultant.He has 25 years of work experience in the academic field as a lecturer at public universities and recently in private institutions for subjects related to markets and financial institutions, auditing, risk management, etc. Author of scientific articles published in journals indexed with SCOPUS, or other indexes. Author of papers in international conferences as well as opponent and scientific leader for dissertations in the field of financial markets. He holds the degree of Doctor of Science since 2004 by Faculty of Economics in University of Tirana, and the title Prof. Assoc. since 2012, while in 2021 he received the title of professor doctor. He holds international certifications in the field of Securities (Securities), Risk Management, Financial Stability, EU Legislation, Money Laundering, etc.His work experience for up to 20 years as a manager in several positions in banks, including five (5) years as Head of the Supervision Department at the AFSA and the Supervision Department at the Bank of Albania. During these years of work in the financial markets has represented the respective units that led in partnership relations with important public institutions, domestic and foreign counterparts, other supervisory authorities inside and outside Albania, and other international institutions such as the EU Council, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, ECB, Standard
This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations... more This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations) in the banking system, as for banks are the main actors of the Albanian financial system. In fact, the customer satisfaction in the banking sector is an important criterion for customer to differentiate and build their loyalty toward the bank, consequently increasing the odds for loyal customers towards more than a service of the bank. Previous studies and research suggest that consumer perceptions and their expectations are likely to differ as per their customer satisfaction. This particular study examines implications related to bank's customers satisfaction for Albanian banks which for study purpose are grouped in two different clusters based on the origin of shareholder's capital. Satisfied customers are an important advantage for any business likewise banks. The difference is made by customer satisfaction and loyalty created through some components on the behavior of bankers serving to their customers. The SERVQUAL model that is the pillar of this article methodology, whereas structured and semi structured questionnaire is the instrument for performing the survey. A sample of 246 respondents which are banks customers from cluster 1 (local capital origin) is used for the qualitative research. The results of this study help bankers in order to maintain their business indicators in a highly competitive market and other stakeholders for identifying the implications faced in the banking industry in Albania. To achieve this, the Bank must conduct frequent research regarding customer expectations and respond to customer complaints with precise corrective actions.
The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some wel... more The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some well-known economists. This study provides further insight on such correlation by examining the case of Kosovo from both a qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The data used was from 2010 to 2017 and has been analyzed using the augmented Dickey-Fuller tests, Johansen cointegration tests, and Ganger causality test. The test of the unit root confirms stationarity, and the regression results showed that deposits have a significant positive impact on Kosovo's economic growth, because savings stimulate investment, production, and employment and consequently generate greater sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, loans and remittances also help boost the economy of Kosovo through their direct impact on investment. This paper confirms that countries whose national savings rate is high are not dependent on foreign direct investment; consequently, the risk arising from volatile foreign direct investment decreases significantly.
The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of... more The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of banks, auditing, and financial supervision. This led to increased consideration of the respective roles and interactions of banking supervisors with external and internal auditors, who are key contributors to market discipline. Auditors ensure that financial information is transparent and reliable while supervisors provide confidence in financial systems. On the other hand, auditors enable market players to make decisions based on this information and contribute to financial stability. In 2014, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision considered the interaction between supervisors and external auditors by enabling their relationships to improve the quality of banks' audits, financial statements, and effective supervision of the banking system. Since 2015, the Bank of Albania has adopted its regulatory framework almost fully compliant with these principles. This paper analyses the typology of issues identified in the external audit reports of the 10 largest banks in Albania for 2018 and needs for their improvement.
Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the ... more Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the individual well-being, the national economic growth and the stability of financial markets. Supporting financial education conveys youth empowerment through increasing their income as entrepreneurs, managing their money (incomes, salaries or other benefits) through planning spending and savings, fostering financial inclusion through recognition of financial products, risk management and protection from asymmetric information. Albanians continue to be among people who love education and invest in professions that might enable them to make more money, but they have little or no opportunities to learn about managing their money. Today, almost 4 years after the approval of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI), this paper based on data analysis of young Albanians perceptions conclude that the national objective of "empowering youth" is considered over 60% unattained, affected also by an outdated strategy on education and on development of a supporting financial education for Albanian youngsters in particular. Government, regulators and private organizations must collaborate and invest in the financial education of youth, for the future will be the product of such efforts that are made today.
This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank cust... more This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank customers which might escalate to a bank panic. Because of similarities and interbank connections Albanian case might be considered by researchers and supervisory bodies as an example for banks management of SEE countries. Banks in Albania are institutions of a special public importance, and they should be ethical at any time, in every service, in all sort of information revealed to the public, in any decision they make and every time to act responsibly for the best of their customers. Behavior of bank management resulted with ethical issues based on quantitative and qualitative analysis made for this article. All these findings threat the trust of bank customers and create the premises for bank panics. Banks management and regulators have to consider these conclusions for protecting the financial stability.
This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have to... more This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have towards their banks in Albania. Specifically, the article analyses the implementation of transparency and information symmetry related to pricing and publishing banking interest rates, commissions and fees, clarity of banking products, and reports. The minimal obligation of Albanian banks is to obey the legal and regulatory requirements regarding transparency and information symmetry. However, banks in Albania-for pricing, commissions and fees of their typical services-follow their competition which is a relatively low level of transparency. Comparison of products' terms and conditions among banks is difficult for the public as a result of the information asymmetry. In addition, some banks are in breach of regulation on transparency for banking and financial products and services. As importantly, expensive bank money transfer commissions increase customer tendency to avoid paying through the banking system, which in turn increase informality and potential forms of tax evasion. These findings are compared with data on other banks in South East Europe to identify the mechanism(s) that affect costumer trust. The article presents several conclusions and implications for Central Banks in Albania and the region to prevent potential costumer distrust by requiring banks to establish a common methodology for pricing and publication of symmetric information for products' terms and conditions, which will be a good practice for the banking markets in Albania and the region.
Banc-assurance in its simplest form is the distribution of insurance products through a bank dist... more Banc-assurance in its simplest form is the distribution of insurance products through a bank distribution channel. In concrete term, bancassurance which is also known as "Allianz" distributes a package of financial services that can fulfill both banking and insurance needs at the same time. It takes various forms in various countries depend upon the demography, economic and legislative climate of that country. Profile of a country decides the kinds of products bancassurance shall be dealing with. Economic situation will determines the trends in terms of turnover, market share etc. Whereas legislative climate will decide the periphery within which the bancassurance has to operate. The motive behind banc assurance varies: For banks-product diversification, source of additional fee income. For Insurance company-A tool of increasing there market penetration, premium turnover, For Customers-Reduced Price, High Quality Product, Delivery at doorsteps. Actually everybody is a winner.Banc assurance simply means selling of insurance products by banks. In this arrangement, insurance companies and banks undergo a tie-up, thereby allowing banks to sell the insurance products to its customers. This is a system in which a bank has a corporate agency with one insurance company to sell its products. By selling insurance policies bank earns a revenue stream apart from interest. It is called as fee-based income. This income is purely risk free for the bank since the bank simply plays the role of an intermediary for sourcing business to the insurance company. ORIGIN & GLOBAL SCENARIO: It is most successful in Europe, especially in France, from where it started, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg. The concept of bancassurance is relatively new in North America. As mentioned above bancassurance growth differs due to various reasons in different countries. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 prevented the banks of the USA from entering into alliance with different financial services providers, thereby putting a barrier on bancassurance. As a result of this life insurance was primarily sold through individual agents, who focused on wealthier individuals, leading to a majority of the American middle class households being under-insured. With the US Government repealing the Act in 1999, the concept of bancassurance started gaining grounds in the USA also. Going to Asia, it has been estimated that bancassurance would contribute almost 16% of the life premium in the Asian markets in the year 2006 primarily due to the growth expected in India and China. Middle-East has probably the lowest penetration of bancassurance products. And this has a lot to do with the cultural and religious attitude of the regions predominantly Muslim customers, for whom life insurance in its purely commercial form has been a taboo. But with the development of Shariah-Compliant Takaful Products, Perceptions are beginning to change and there is a wider acceptance of appropriately developed life products.
The choice of fiscal policy is one of the most controversial issues of the role of government in ... more The choice of fiscal policy is one of the most controversial issues of the role of government in a country's social and economic life, not only by economists, but by a wider range of people. This article will discuss some of the issues on which the fiscal policy debate remains open. The analysis will focus on both the theoretical approach and the role that fiscal policy has played in our country, going further on some suggestions for the future. It will also analyze the status of fiscal policy in Albania seen in the context of fiscal sustainability. It will address the role that fiscal policy plays in social issues and the role of politics in the choice of fiscal policy. In a country with high level of poverty and an economy that requires large investments, the choice of fiscal policies is a controversial issue. This issue will focus on their impact on the economy of our country. The article concludes with conclusions and recommendations.
This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations... more This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations) in the banking system, as for banks are the main actors of the Albanian financial system. In fact, the customer satisfaction in the banking sector is an important criterion for customer to differentiate and build their loyalty toward the bank, consequently increasing the odds for loyal customers towards more than a service of the bank. Previous studies and research suggest that consumer perceptions and their expectations are likely to differ as per their customer satisfaction. This particular study examines implications related to bank's customers satisfaction for Albanian banks which for study purpose are grouped in two different clusters based on the origin of shareholder's capital. Satisfied customers are an important advantage for any business likewise banks. The difference is made by customer satisfaction and loyalty created through some components on the behavior of bankers serving to their customers. The SERVQUAL model that is the pillar of this article methodology, whereas structured and semi structured questionnaire is the instrument for performing the survey. A sample of 246 respondents which are banks customers from cluster 1 (local capital origin) is used for the qualitative research. The results of this study help bankers in order to maintain their business indicators in a highly competitive market and other stakeholders for identifying the implications faced in the banking industry in Albania. To achieve this, the Bank must conduct frequent research regarding customer expectations and respond to customer complaints with precise corrective actions.
This study aims to provide an overview of central governance in Albania, focusing on farmers' opi... more This study aims to provide an overview of central governance in Albania, focusing on farmers' opinion and satisfaction with activity of Agriculture Rural Development Agency (ARDA) in Albania, which is financed by public and EU funds either for financing or credit guarantying the Albanian Farmers.
The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some wel... more The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some well-known economists. This study provides further insight on such correlation by examining the case of Kosovo from both a qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The data used was from 2010 to 2017 and has been analyzed using the augmented Dickey-Fuller tests, Johansen cointegration tests, and Ganger causality test. The test of the unit root confirms stationarity, and the regression results showed that deposits have a significant positive impact on Kosovo's economic growth, because savings stimulate investment, production, and employment and consequently generate greater sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, loans and remittances also help boost the economy of Kosovo through their direct impact on investment. This paper confirms that countries whose national savings rate is high are not dependent on foreign direct investment; consequently, the risk arising from volatile foreign direct investment decreases significantly.
The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of... more The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of banks, auditing, and financial supervision. This led to increased consideration of the respective roles and interactions of banking supervisors with external and internal auditors, who are key contributors to market discipline. Auditors ensure that financial information is transparent and reliable while supervisors provide confidence in financial systems. On the other hand, auditors enable market players to make decisions based on this information and contribute to financial stability. In 2014, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision considered the interaction between supervisors and external auditors by enabling their relationships to improve the quality of banks' audits, financial statements, and effective supervision of the banking system. Since 2015, the Bank of Albania has adopted its regulatory framework almost fully compliant with these principles. This paper analyses the typology of issues identified in the external audit reports of the 10 largest banks in Albania for 2018 and needs for their improvement.
Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the ... more Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the individual well-being, the national economic growth and the stability of financial markets. Supporting financial education conveys youth empowerment through increasing their income as entrepreneurs, managing their money (incomes, salaries or other benefits) through planning spending and savings, fostering financial inclusion through recognition of financial products, risk management and protection from asymmetric information. Albanians continue to be among people who love education and invest in professions that might enable them to make more money, but they have little or no opportunities to learn about managing their money. Today, almost 4 years after the approval of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI), this paper based on data analysis of young Albanians perceptions conclude that the national objective of "empowering youth" is considered over 60% unattained, affected also by an outdated strategy on education and on development of a supporting financial education for Albanian youngsters in particular. Government, regulators and private organizations must collaborate and invest in the financial education of youth, for the future will be the product of such efforts that are made today.
Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the ... more Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the individual well-being, the national economic growth and the stability of financial markets. Supporting financial education conveys youth empowerment through increasing their income as entrepreneurs, managing their money (incomes, salaries or other benefits) through planning spending and savings, fostering financial inclusion through recognition of financial products, risk management and protection from asymmetric information. Albanians continue to be among people who love education and invest in professions that might enable them to make more money, but they have little or no opportunities to learn about managing their money. Today, almost 4 years after the approval of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI), this paper based on data analysis of young Albanians perceptions conclude that the national objective of "empowering youth" is considered over 60% unattained, affected also by an outdated strategy on education and on development of a supporting financial education for Albanian youngsters in particular. Government, regulators and private organizations must collaborate and invest in the financial education of youth, for the future will be the product of such efforts that are made today.
This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank cust... more This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank customers which might escalate to a bank panic. Because of similarities and interbank connections Albanian case might be considered by researchers and supervisory bodies as an example for banks management of SEE countries. Banks in Albania are institutions of a special public importance, and they should be ethical at any time, in every service, in all sort of information revealed to the public, in any decision they make and every time to act responsibly for the best of their customers. Behavior of bank management resulted with ethical issues based on quantitative and qualitative analysis made for this article. All these findings threat the trust of bank customers and create the premises for bank panics. Banks management and regulators have to consider these conclusions for protecting the financial stability.
This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have to... more This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have towards their banks in Albania. Specifically, the article analyses the implementation of transparency and information symmetry related to pricing and publishing banking interest rates, commissions and fees, clarity of banking products, and reports. The minimal obligation of Albanian banks is to obey the legal and regulatory requirements regarding transparency and information symmetry. However, banks in Albania-for pricing, commissions and fees of their typical services-follow their competition which is a relatively low level of transparency. Comparison of products' terms and conditions among banks is difficult for the public as a result of the information asymmetry. In addition, some banks are in breach of regulation on transparency for banking and financial products and services. As importantly, expensive bank money transfer commissions increase customer tendency to avoid paying through the banking system, which in turn increase informality and potential forms of tax evasion. These findings are compared with data on other banks in South East Europe to identify the mechanism(s) that affect costumer trust. The article presents several conclusions and implications for Central Banks in Albania and the region to prevent potential costumer distrust by requiring banks to establish a common methodology for pricing and publication of symmetric information for products' terms and conditions, which will be a good practice for the banking markets in Albania and the region.
This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations... more This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations) in the banking system, as for banks are the main actors of the Albanian financial system. In fact, the customer satisfaction in the banking sector is an important criterion for customer to differentiate and build their loyalty toward the bank, consequently increasing the odds for loyal customers towards more than a service of the bank. Previous studies and research suggest that consumer perceptions and their expectations are likely to differ as per their customer satisfaction. This particular study examines implications related to bank's customers satisfaction for Albanian banks which for study purpose are grouped in two different clusters based on the origin of shareholder's capital. Satisfied customers are an important advantage for any business likewise banks. The difference is made by customer satisfaction and loyalty created through some components on the behavior of bankers serving to their customers. The SERVQUAL model that is the pillar of this article methodology, whereas structured and semi structured questionnaire is the instrument for performing the survey. A sample of 246 respondents which are banks customers from cluster 1 (local capital origin) is used for the qualitative research. The results of this study help bankers in order to maintain their business indicators in a highly competitive market and other stakeholders for identifying the implications faced in the banking industry in Albania. To achieve this, the Bank must conduct frequent research regarding customer expectations and respond to customer complaints with precise corrective actions.
The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some wel... more The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some well-known economists. This study provides further insight on such correlation by examining the case of Kosovo from both a qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The data used was from 2010 to 2017 and has been analyzed using the augmented Dickey-Fuller tests, Johansen cointegration tests, and Ganger causality test. The test of the unit root confirms stationarity, and the regression results showed that deposits have a significant positive impact on Kosovo's economic growth, because savings stimulate investment, production, and employment and consequently generate greater sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, loans and remittances also help boost the economy of Kosovo through their direct impact on investment. This paper confirms that countries whose national savings rate is high are not dependent on foreign direct investment; consequently, the risk arising from volatile foreign direct investment decreases significantly.
The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of... more The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of banks, auditing, and financial supervision. This led to increased consideration of the respective roles and interactions of banking supervisors with external and internal auditors, who are key contributors to market discipline. Auditors ensure that financial information is transparent and reliable while supervisors provide confidence in financial systems. On the other hand, auditors enable market players to make decisions based on this information and contribute to financial stability. In 2014, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision considered the interaction between supervisors and external auditors by enabling their relationships to improve the quality of banks' audits, financial statements, and effective supervision of the banking system. Since 2015, the Bank of Albania has adopted its regulatory framework almost fully compliant with these principles. This paper analyses the typology of issues identified in the external audit reports of the 10 largest banks in Albania for 2018 and needs for their improvement.
Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the ... more Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the individual well-being, the national economic growth and the stability of financial markets. Supporting financial education conveys youth empowerment through increasing their income as entrepreneurs, managing their money (incomes, salaries or other benefits) through planning spending and savings, fostering financial inclusion through recognition of financial products, risk management and protection from asymmetric information. Albanians continue to be among people who love education and invest in professions that might enable them to make more money, but they have little or no opportunities to learn about managing their money. Today, almost 4 years after the approval of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI), this paper based on data analysis of young Albanians perceptions conclude that the national objective of "empowering youth" is considered over 60% unattained, affected also by an outdated strategy on education and on development of a supporting financial education for Albanian youngsters in particular. Government, regulators and private organizations must collaborate and invest in the financial education of youth, for the future will be the product of such efforts that are made today.
This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank cust... more This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank customers which might escalate to a bank panic. Because of similarities and interbank connections Albanian case might be considered by researchers and supervisory bodies as an example for banks management of SEE countries. Banks in Albania are institutions of a special public importance, and they should be ethical at any time, in every service, in all sort of information revealed to the public, in any decision they make and every time to act responsibly for the best of their customers. Behavior of bank management resulted with ethical issues based on quantitative and qualitative analysis made for this article. All these findings threat the trust of bank customers and create the premises for bank panics. Banks management and regulators have to consider these conclusions for protecting the financial stability.
This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have to... more This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have towards their banks in Albania. Specifically, the article analyses the implementation of transparency and information symmetry related to pricing and publishing banking interest rates, commissions and fees, clarity of banking products, and reports. The minimal obligation of Albanian banks is to obey the legal and regulatory requirements regarding transparency and information symmetry. However, banks in Albania-for pricing, commissions and fees of their typical services-follow their competition which is a relatively low level of transparency. Comparison of products' terms and conditions among banks is difficult for the public as a result of the information asymmetry. In addition, some banks are in breach of regulation on transparency for banking and financial products and services. As importantly, expensive bank money transfer commissions increase customer tendency to avoid paying through the banking system, which in turn increase informality and potential forms of tax evasion. These findings are compared with data on other banks in South East Europe to identify the mechanism(s) that affect costumer trust. The article presents several conclusions and implications for Central Banks in Albania and the region to prevent potential costumer distrust by requiring banks to establish a common methodology for pricing and publication of symmetric information for products' terms and conditions, which will be a good practice for the banking markets in Albania and the region.
Banc-assurance in its simplest form is the distribution of insurance products through a bank dist... more Banc-assurance in its simplest form is the distribution of insurance products through a bank distribution channel. In concrete term, bancassurance which is also known as "Allianz" distributes a package of financial services that can fulfill both banking and insurance needs at the same time. It takes various forms in various countries depend upon the demography, economic and legislative climate of that country. Profile of a country decides the kinds of products bancassurance shall be dealing with. Economic situation will determines the trends in terms of turnover, market share etc. Whereas legislative climate will decide the periphery within which the bancassurance has to operate. The motive behind banc assurance varies: For banks-product diversification, source of additional fee income. For Insurance company-A tool of increasing there market penetration, premium turnover, For Customers-Reduced Price, High Quality Product, Delivery at doorsteps. Actually everybody is a winner.Banc assurance simply means selling of insurance products by banks. In this arrangement, insurance companies and banks undergo a tie-up, thereby allowing banks to sell the insurance products to its customers. This is a system in which a bank has a corporate agency with one insurance company to sell its products. By selling insurance policies bank earns a revenue stream apart from interest. It is called as fee-based income. This income is purely risk free for the bank since the bank simply plays the role of an intermediary for sourcing business to the insurance company. ORIGIN & GLOBAL SCENARIO: It is most successful in Europe, especially in France, from where it started, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg. The concept of bancassurance is relatively new in North America. As mentioned above bancassurance growth differs due to various reasons in different countries. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 prevented the banks of the USA from entering into alliance with different financial services providers, thereby putting a barrier on bancassurance. As a result of this life insurance was primarily sold through individual agents, who focused on wealthier individuals, leading to a majority of the American middle class households being under-insured. With the US Government repealing the Act in 1999, the concept of bancassurance started gaining grounds in the USA also. Going to Asia, it has been estimated that bancassurance would contribute almost 16% of the life premium in the Asian markets in the year 2006 primarily due to the growth expected in India and China. Middle-East has probably the lowest penetration of bancassurance products. And this has a lot to do with the cultural and religious attitude of the regions predominantly Muslim customers, for whom life insurance in its purely commercial form has been a taboo. But with the development of Shariah-Compliant Takaful Products, Perceptions are beginning to change and there is a wider acceptance of appropriately developed life products.
The choice of fiscal policy is one of the most controversial issues of the role of government in ... more The choice of fiscal policy is one of the most controversial issues of the role of government in a country's social and economic life, not only by economists, but by a wider range of people. This article will discuss some of the issues on which the fiscal policy debate remains open. The analysis will focus on both the theoretical approach and the role that fiscal policy has played in our country, going further on some suggestions for the future. It will also analyze the status of fiscal policy in Albania seen in the context of fiscal sustainability. It will address the role that fiscal policy plays in social issues and the role of politics in the choice of fiscal policy. In a country with high level of poverty and an economy that requires large investments, the choice of fiscal policies is a controversial issue. This issue will focus on their impact on the economy of our country. The article concludes with conclusions and recommendations.
This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations... more This study skims the much debatable issue of customer satisfaction (quality matching expectations) in the banking system, as for banks are the main actors of the Albanian financial system. In fact, the customer satisfaction in the banking sector is an important criterion for customer to differentiate and build their loyalty toward the bank, consequently increasing the odds for loyal customers towards more than a service of the bank. Previous studies and research suggest that consumer perceptions and their expectations are likely to differ as per their customer satisfaction. This particular study examines implications related to bank's customers satisfaction for Albanian banks which for study purpose are grouped in two different clusters based on the origin of shareholder's capital. Satisfied customers are an important advantage for any business likewise banks. The difference is made by customer satisfaction and loyalty created through some components on the behavior of bankers serving to their customers. The SERVQUAL model that is the pillar of this article methodology, whereas structured and semi structured questionnaire is the instrument for performing the survey. A sample of 246 respondents which are banks customers from cluster 1 (local capital origin) is used for the qualitative research. The results of this study help bankers in order to maintain their business indicators in a highly competitive market and other stakeholders for identifying the implications faced in the banking industry in Albania. To achieve this, the Bank must conduct frequent research regarding customer expectations and respond to customer complaints with precise corrective actions.
This study aims to provide an overview of central governance in Albania, focusing on farmers' opi... more This study aims to provide an overview of central governance in Albania, focusing on farmers' opinion and satisfaction with activity of Agriculture Rural Development Agency (ARDA) in Albania, which is financed by public and EU funds either for financing or credit guarantying the Albanian Farmers.
The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some wel... more The correlation between savings and economic growth has been the subject of research for some well-known economists. This study provides further insight on such correlation by examining the case of Kosovo from both a qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The data used was from 2010 to 2017 and has been analyzed using the augmented Dickey-Fuller tests, Johansen cointegration tests, and Ganger causality test. The test of the unit root confirms stationarity, and the regression results showed that deposits have a significant positive impact on Kosovo's economic growth, because savings stimulate investment, production, and employment and consequently generate greater sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, loans and remittances also help boost the economy of Kosovo through their direct impact on investment. This paper confirms that countries whose national savings rate is high are not dependent on foreign direct investment; consequently, the risk arising from volatile foreign direct investment decreases significantly.
The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of... more The financial crisis of 2008 highlighted weaknesses in risk management, control and governance of banks, auditing, and financial supervision. This led to increased consideration of the respective roles and interactions of banking supervisors with external and internal auditors, who are key contributors to market discipline. Auditors ensure that financial information is transparent and reliable while supervisors provide confidence in financial systems. On the other hand, auditors enable market players to make decisions based on this information and contribute to financial stability. In 2014, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision considered the interaction between supervisors and external auditors by enabling their relationships to improve the quality of banks' audits, financial statements, and effective supervision of the banking system. Since 2015, the Bank of Albania has adopted its regulatory framework almost fully compliant with these principles. This paper analyses the typology of issues identified in the external audit reports of the 10 largest banks in Albania for 2018 and needs for their improvement.
Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the ... more Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the individual well-being, the national economic growth and the stability of financial markets. Supporting financial education conveys youth empowerment through increasing their income as entrepreneurs, managing their money (incomes, salaries or other benefits) through planning spending and savings, fostering financial inclusion through recognition of financial products, risk management and protection from asymmetric information. Albanians continue to be among people who love education and invest in professions that might enable them to make more money, but they have little or no opportunities to learn about managing their money. Today, almost 4 years after the approval of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI), this paper based on data analysis of young Albanians perceptions conclude that the national objective of "empowering youth" is considered over 60% unattained, affected also by an outdated strategy on education and on development of a supporting financial education for Albanian youngsters in particular. Government, regulators and private organizations must collaborate and invest in the financial education of youth, for the future will be the product of such efforts that are made today.
Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the ... more Nowadays, financial education in a developing country believed to be important as it affects the individual well-being, the national economic growth and the stability of financial markets. Supporting financial education conveys youth empowerment through increasing their income as entrepreneurs, managing their money (incomes, salaries or other benefits) through planning spending and savings, fostering financial inclusion through recognition of financial products, risk management and protection from asymmetric information. Albanians continue to be among people who love education and invest in professions that might enable them to make more money, but they have little or no opportunities to learn about managing their money. Today, almost 4 years after the approval of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI), this paper based on data analysis of young Albanians perceptions conclude that the national objective of "empowering youth" is considered over 60% unattained, affected also by an outdated strategy on education and on development of a supporting financial education for Albanian youngsters in particular. Government, regulators and private organizations must collaborate and invest in the financial education of youth, for the future will be the product of such efforts that are made today.
This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank cust... more This paper seeks to recognize the influence of the unethical banking to the distrust of bank customers which might escalate to a bank panic. Because of similarities and interbank connections Albanian case might be considered by researchers and supervisory bodies as an example for banks management of SEE countries. Banks in Albania are institutions of a special public importance, and they should be ethical at any time, in every service, in all sort of information revealed to the public, in any decision they make and every time to act responsibly for the best of their customers. Behavior of bank management resulted with ethical issues based on quantitative and qualitative analysis made for this article. All these findings threat the trust of bank customers and create the premises for bank panics. Banks management and regulators have to consider these conclusions for protecting the financial stability.
This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have to... more This article examines the impact of information asymmetry on the level of trust customers have towards their banks in Albania. Specifically, the article analyses the implementation of transparency and information symmetry related to pricing and publishing banking interest rates, commissions and fees, clarity of banking products, and reports. The minimal obligation of Albanian banks is to obey the legal and regulatory requirements regarding transparency and information symmetry. However, banks in Albania-for pricing, commissions and fees of their typical services-follow their competition which is a relatively low level of transparency. Comparison of products' terms and conditions among banks is difficult for the public as a result of the information asymmetry. In addition, some banks are in breach of regulation on transparency for banking and financial products and services. As importantly, expensive bank money transfer commissions increase customer tendency to avoid paying through the banking system, which in turn increase informality and potential forms of tax evasion. These findings are compared with data on other banks in South East Europe to identify the mechanism(s) that affect costumer trust. The article presents several conclusions and implications for Central Banks in Albania and the region to prevent potential costumer distrust by requiring banks to establish a common methodology for pricing and publication of symmetric information for products' terms and conditions, which will be a good practice for the banking markets in Albania and the region.
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