But it must be clear that beyond regulators and central banks, the private sector has also a key role to play to ensure that the digitalisation of finance indeed brings about the efficiency benefits it is expected to deliver without jeopardizing the stability of our financial system. From that perspective I would like to underline the strategic importance of the European Payments Initiative. 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  The EPI is currently the only project aiming to offer an integrated pan-European payment solution with a common brand, and not based on the interoperability of heterogeneous domestic solutions. I regret that part of the European banking community has prioritised other interests over a common, lasting project. This shrinking of the number of shareholders has inevitable consequences on the capacity of the initiative, leading EPI to give up on a European card scheme, and leaving this field open for international schemes in the short and medium term. On the other hand, we can also acknowledge that EPI has decided to invest in the next generation of payments: mobile, account-to-account and instant payments. Eight of the first ten European banks and the two largest European payment processors are part of the project. We therefore hope that the launch of the first EPI solutions, expected for the beginning of 2023, will convince other banking communities to join this new digital pan-European solution, which stands as a great chance for the European market to build the independence of the European payments market for the future.

The regulatory framework and respective methodologies are drafted pursuant to the requirements of Basel II, and in accordance with European Union directives. About regulatory amendments, I would like to highlight two of the most important ones, which have now taken the form of a law: The Law on the Functioning of Savings and Loan Associations and their Unions and the Law on Recovery and Resolution in Banks. The first provided for a comprehensive revision of the regulatory framework for the supervision of savings and loan associations, which consists in respective regulations on licencing and risk management in these institutions, as well as the reporting system about their financial activity. The second provides the Bank of Albania with the attributes of the Resolution Authority, through a set of legal instruments. This law is an important qualitative step towards guarantees for safeguarding financial stability in Albania. Moreover, in response to the negative events in the previous year, when the security related to transportation and keeping monetary values was affected, the Bank of Albania has urged the cooperation between banks and law enforcement authorities to take measures for eliminating the deficiencies; it has added on-site inspections to examine the probability of occurrence of a risk; and, has strengthened the regulatory framework for establishing criteria on the minimum physical security. Lastly, a good functioning of the financial system in general and the banking sector in particular has been endorsed by efficient payment systems. The national payment systems operated by the Bank of Albania have operated uninterruptedly and correctly.