gent sejko : bank of albania ’ s achievements in 2021 and challenges for 2022 address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the end - of - year meeting with the media and the governor's award ceremony, tirana, 20 december 2021. * * * dear ladies and gentlemen, after a hard period due to the pandemic while we all had to keep the physical distances, this reunion at the bank of albania premises to spend some time together as the year end approaches, embodies a special value. overall, the end - year meetings accompanying the holiday season, serve as a balance to recall the achievements of the year we are preparing to leave behind, coupled with the challenges that lay ahead in the next year. the two past years were challenging to the entire globe, and particularly to albania, as we before the pandemic had to deal with the devastating earthquake of november 2019. the todaymeeting makes us optimistic and gives hope that in the future we will have the possibility to communicate and collaborate in normal conditions and out of concerns and restrictions triggered by the pandemic. the shocks faced over the last two years affected sharply our way of living, tested the economic, monetary and financial equilibriums of the country and the stability of growth sources. they show that the sustainability of the economic and financial stability depend on the work of monetary institutions coupled with the ability and capacity of the entire society to act swiftly and efficiently in this fight against the pandemic. in this light, first and foremost, in the health context, vaccination, and hopefully, the relevant cures under progress, will turn into powerful instruments in curtailing the effects of the pandemic on both economy and finance. the good news is that the analyses carried out in our institution indicate that the economic rebound, the achievement of prices objective and the preservation of the financial stability are being materialised accordingly to the optimistic forecasts of the bank of albania. the continuation of simulating monetary and fiscal policies has : guaranteed both the monetary and financial stability of albania ; bolstered lending at low cost to the economic activity, and eased the burden that the prolongation of pandemic imposed on private sector and households. the crucial role that mas media has played in meticulously detailing and convening the policy message to the audience for enhancing its awareness, has supported and benefited to the prudential policy making. the pandemic and restrictions in

ardian fullani : monetary policy challenges in the framework of approximating the bank of albania to the european central bank greeting speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the workshop organised by the bank of albania in cooperation with the gtz, tirana, 8 december 2004. * * * honorable participants, i would like to express my pleasure for participating in this meeting, whose topic has been of great interest to me, and not accidentally i expressed in my first public pronouncement the approximation of the bank of albania to escb pattern as one of my essential challenges. i had the possibility to discuss this issue even with the vice president of the ecb, mr. papademos, at a meeting in frankfurt, where i launched the idea to be assisted by the ecb and member banks of the escb on approximating our system with the european one. trying to spare the time for other discussions of interest in this meeting, i would like to briefly mention some of the main steps to be undertaken by the boa in the integration process with the european system of central banks, a process that requires not only time, but also dedication, lobbying, financial resources and above all, capable human resources. 1. reviewing the legal and regulatory framework of the bank of albania and of the financial system in albania in integration process, the reviewing of laws and by - laws is of priority, particularly in the context of the prerequisites that a country aspiring for membership has to meet in the central banks area, in financial and banking system and even broader. in spite of the so - far achievements, much work has to be done. therefore, the identification of our needs and priorities in this direction would serve as the first step. the bank of albania is not the sole authority in supervising the financial operations licensed in albania. in this sense, the reviewing of laws and bylaws, involving not only the banking system but also the financial one, would open the way to more effective supervision of the overall financial system. this process would serve not only to further develop the financial system but also to assist in increasing the institutional cooperation between the banking and financial system, thus leading the cooperation between these systems to a higher level. 2. reviewing the organizational and institutional system it is natural that the pattern to be pursued is that of the ecb and escb. in this issue, much importance will be given to the institutional development of the bank of albania over the mid - term