anchored long - term expectations of the economy. this move has increased the space for harmonising better the short - term stimulation with the long - term stability of the economy. in response to shocks, we have progressively eased the monetary policy since 2009. this approach has brought the key interest rates to their record low to boost consumption and investments. the depreciation of the nominal and real exchange rate has provided another incentive for the albanian economy, encouraging exports and discouraging imports. we have continuously adjusted our monetary operations to guarantee an increasing supply of liquidity against an expanded collateral base with longer maturity terms. given the current situation of the albanian economy, we believe that macroeconomic policies should continue to be stimulating even in the future. the need for stimulating economic policies is conditioned first by the fact that the albanian economy is operating below its potential, as the demand may not guarantee a complete utilisation of capacities. second, it is enabled by short and medium - term controlled risks to economic stability. in the context of harmonisation of fiscal and monetary policies, the bank of albania has supported the increasing orientation of the fiscal policy towards debt consolidation. we remain ready to respond within a short time to any consolidating initiative of the public sector. our easing measures will remain within the legal framework of bank of albania ’ s instruments and in line with the consolidated philosophy of central banks action. the monetary policy may prove successful only if its transmission mechanism is functional. in this context, the banking system plays a key role, as the first actor of the transmission mechanism. b ) a prudent supervisory and regulatory policy. this policy maintains sound balance sheets of the financial system and the private sector. thanks to the timely measures to manage credit, capital and liquidity risks, the albanian economy has successfully withstood the shock from global financial markets and has now a consolidated financial stability and a banking system that is able to credit and support the albanian economy. maintaining banking sector stability is one of the two main priorities of the bank of albania. i take this opportunity to draw the attention of the banking industry executives, to engage bis central bankers ’ speeches maximally to act in full compliance with the legal and regulatory framework and respect the standards for sound management of banking activities. our objective remains unchanged ; maintaining and strengthening public confidence in the banking sector. to this end, the banking system should : verify constantly the compliance and strengthen the internal audit systems. empower capacities for risk assessment and management. maintain adequate capital and liquidity

krzysztof rybinski : sepa and the payment system in poland speech by mr krzysztof rybinski, deputy president of the national bank of poland, at the 13th bank forum “ regulatory changes in european banking – outcomes for banks and the economy in poland ”, warsaw, 14 march 2007. * * * welcome to the session devoted to the sepa project – single euro payments area – in the context of the polish payment system. when you google sepa, the first website on the results list is the site of the scottish environment protection agency, but what closely follows is the ecb ’ s website on sepa ( single euro payments area ). the pagerank of both these sites is 6, which means that they are important in the internet. since the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins in 2002, consumers have been able to make cash payments throughout the euro area from a single purse using a single currency. the sepa project represents the next major step towards closer european integration ; it will allow consumers to make cashless payments throughout the euro area from a single account under the same basic conditions, regardless of their location. in 2002, the banking industry took up this challenging project by creating the european payments council ( epc ). the epc is defining the new rules and procedures for euro payments. to do that, it has involved not only the stakeholders in the euro area, but also those in other countries of the european union, poland obviously included, as well as iceland, liechtenstein, norway and switzerland. communities outside the euro area will thus have the opportunity to participate in euro payment systems, and will be able to adopt sepa standards and practices, thereby contributing to the establishment of a single market for payment services. the epc plans first sepa products to come on the market at the beginning of the next year. therefore, today ’ s bank forum is an excellent opportunity for an in - depth discussion on the role and place of the polish payment infrastructure in the sepa world. ladies and gentlemen, i am pleased to present you the discussants of our panel, in alphabetical order : mr. ryszard druzynski, vice president of raiffeisen bank polska, mr. krzysztof kalicki, president of the management board of deutsche bank polska, mr. ronnie richardson, president of the management board of kredyt bank, mr. witold zielinski, vice president of the management