It mainly relates to the significant growing number of Banka Popullore branches, which opened 15 new branches throughout the territory of Albania over 2005, and to several other banks within this group, which expanded with some new branches and agencies after a period of long inactivity. The number of employees grew considerably over 2005, by 24 per cent, from the growth of 26 per cent over 2004. This significant growth in the number of employees is mainly related to the expansion of the banking system network and to the extension of the banks’ activities, which requires a better division of work and a more complete organizational structure. By the end 2005, the Albanian banking system had 3,479 employees, from 2,816 over the previous year. Compared to the previous year, the number of employees per banking unit decreased over 2005. In 2005, banks had 13.9 employees per banking unit, compared to 15 over 2004. Such a decrease has been a consequence of the growing number of branches and agencies with higher rates than the growth of the number of employees. A considerable number of branches and agencies have been established in sparsely populated areas; as a consequence, the number of employees in these branches and agencies has been quite small. The number of loan officers has increased considerably, following the significant growth of lending over 2005 and in the upcoming period. A considerable number of banks have restructured their loan departments, aiming at a more distinct division of duties and responsibilities.
This has been due to the concentration of these companies in certain banks, and also because of the problems encountered in the standardization of the bills according to particular banks’ requirements. The Bank of Albania continues to be committed to finding a solution to these problems. 3. The expansion of the ATMs and the POS (point of sale)  Automated teller machines (ATMs) experienced a further development over 2005 - 2006. Most banks have established a number of ATMs in Tirana and in other main cities throughout the country. The number of electronic terminals has grown from 93 at the end 2004 to 266 in August of the present year, while the number of users has increased from 34,090 to about 295,250. ATMs are used through debit cards, but credit cards are also being widely used. Both Visa and MasterCard are actively being used in Albania and most banks are members in one of them, providing the respective cards. Although the use of cards is still limited, the growing number of service units accepting electronic payments (POS-Point of Sale) from 155 in December 2004, to 1073 in August 2006, and the gradual change of  BIS Review 101/2006  1  the attitude favouring the holding of cash will lead to the enhancement of the use of cards as a mean of payment.