bank of albania charged a fee for the operations carried out in its windows, and in early december the two - level securities register was placed into function. pursuant to fsap recommendation and with a view to enhancing daily liquidity management, the intra - credit regulatory basis was amended. the new bill “ on banks in the republic of albania ” is complete and ready to be presented to banks for discussion. with the assistance of a specialized international consultation, we believe this shall be a new, contemporary law and it shall identify a number of issues addressed in the form of fsap recommendations. starting from july 2005, the automated electronic clearing house system commenced to operate. currently, we are working on completing the regulatory framework with a view to augmenting the services provided to the economy, aiming primarily at automating utilities ’ periodical settlements. in november, the bank of albania supervisory council amended the regulation “ on licensing nonbank entities ”, aiming at involving all non - bank financial institutions which operate in the territory of the republic of albania in the bank of albania licensing and supervision scheme. in october 2005, the bank of albania supervisory council approved the new organization structure of the bank of albania, placing a major emphasis to enhancing legal counselling, statistical service and public communication. these tree functions are deemed as very significant, in particular when considered in the context of our objectives related to monetary policy and eu integration. another short - term fsap recommendation related to improving bank of albania transparency is now accomplished. every interested person could be informed on the rules that the bank of albania pursues when it intervenes in the foreign currency market or be acquainted with the present agreements between the bank of albania and the ministry of finance. we have been intensifying our efforts to reaching to a rapid and effective solution as regards the credit information bureau. considering it as a very significant recommendation, we have recently added our contacts with the albanian banking association in order to find a quick solution. a concrete action plan on the part of the recommendations directly related to the activity of the bank of albania and its competencies has already been completed and introduced to imf authorities. what i deem as crucial is the complete assimilation of each suggestion made, and based on this absorption we have tried to build up a realistic and fully possible action plan. we believe that the successful accomplishment of the tasks included in the action plan shall be a key factor in enhancing the banking system financial stability. it shall influence the establishment of a modern payment infrastructure, increase

finance. in fact, if anything, a high pace of credit growth may have raised risks of overheating in some sectors, with potential implications for financial stability. the monetary policy committee ( mpc ) has flagged this risk several times since last year, and will continue to monitor the situation closely. on the other hand, there remains an important drag to growth, largely stemming from a protracted global recovery. in some parts of asia, the first quarter growth has turned out to be lower than expected, as a result of slowing global trade. in thailand, q1 growth has similarly been subdued, expanding 5. 3 percent as both private consumption and investment moderated. part of this pullback may have been a natural reversion to a lower pace of growth after an unusually strong expansion last year. lingering uncertainty about global demand bis central bankers ’ speeches may have also caused some export firms to delay planned investment. consumption may have been held back by farm income in the midst of low global commodity prices, and an accumulation of household debt, which is now at 78 percent of gdp. set against this weaker - than - expected domestic demand, is relatively resilient exports which expanded more than 8 percent. given the still weak global demand on the one hand, and already easy financial conditions on the other, monetary policy must carefully weigh the merits of providing growth support against financial stability concerns. policy interest rate is not the only available tool to address these multiple objectives. macroprudential measures, in particular, are also part of the policy tool kit. the mpc will continue to exercise its best collective judgement as to what course of action and policy mix are deemed most appropriate to ensure maximum sustainable growth for the thai economy. challenges from capital flows and exchange rate volatility let me now turn my discussion to a topic that has attracted a lot of attention recently, namely the issue of capital flows and exchange rate. the appreciation of the thai baht this year up to late april has raised some concerns. during this period, the baht strengthened nearly 7 percent against the us dollar, and 10 percent against our trading partners ’ currencies. what has caused such movement in thai baht? there is little disagreement that, over a long period of time, exchange rates tend to appreciate in economies with better growth prospects, strong external balances and overall sound fundamentals. over the past decade, currencies in thailand and other parts of asia have followed gradual appreciation trends, broadly consistent with their respective