, on average, in 2018. second, the accommodative monetary policy has reduced the existing debt service costs, by alleviating the balance sheets of borrowing households and enterprises, and further bolstering the expansion of aggregate demand. third, the accommodative monetary policy has supported albania ’ s financial stability, by improving the solvency of the private sector, and encouraging loan restructuring. thus, monetary policy - related measures undertaken by the bank of albania have contributed to boosting economic growth. our assessments suggest that the accommodative monetary policy stance has contributed positively, on average by 0. 5 percentage point, to economic growth in the last two years. also, the accommodative monetary policy stance has contributed to the stability of the domestic currency. both transmission channels have contributed and will continue to contribute to price stability in albania. 2. banking supervision and financial stability the activity of the banking sector in 2018 was stable showing good performance and resilience indicators. the financial result was positive : the return on assets ( roa ) stood at 1. 3 % and the return on equity ( roe ) reached 13 %. in addition, capitalisation and liquidity levels were above 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the respective regulatory requirements. the bank of albania judges that the capability of the banking sector to withstand risks is high. credit risk continues to represent the main risk to the activity of the banking sector, but the credit quality has improved from the previous year. at the end of 2018, the non - performing loans ratio stood at 11. 1 % from 13. 2 % a year earlier, whereas the outstanding non - performing loans decreased by 20 %. in 2018, the ownership structure of the banking system underwent some changes, bringing the number of banks down to 14, as at the end of the year. taking into account the changes in ownership taking place in 2019, the actual number of banks is 12. the bank of albania deems that the consolidation of the banking system is a welcomed development, which will revitalize the banking activity, will enhance the efficiency of the banking industry and will bolster development and innovative policies with regard to credit and payments. the main aspects of our work for safeguarding financial stability consisted in strengthening the stability of the banking system, enhancing its resilience to shocks, and adopting international standards in the fields of supervision and regulation. thus, in concrete terms : the bank of albania has worked toward fulfilling all its obligations

gent sejko : albania's economic and financial developments in 2018 address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, presenting the annual report 2017 to the assembly of the republic of albania, tirana, 8 may 2019. * * * honourable speaker, honourable members of parliament, the bank of albania pays particular attention to fostering institutional relations with the assembly of the republic of albania, based on the spirit of accountability and transparency, and nourished by a constant and reciprocal dialogue. in this light, i thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to present in a plenary session to the assembly, the main conclusions of the annual report of the bank of albania. let me start by emphasising that the bank of albania has made progress with regard to all the three underlying aspects of our work : institutional objectives and duties set out in the legal and sublegal framework ; internal objectives set out in our medium - term development strategy ; and, recommendations left by the assembly of the republic of albania in the resolution “ on the assessment of the activity of the bank of albania for 2017 ”. the bank of albania estimates that, in 2018, the albanian economy and financial system made progress. economic activity and employment continued to expand, wages and domestic inflationary pressures trended upward, main banking sector ’ s soundness indicators improved, and a series of indicators of domestic and external economic balances strengthened. let me present a few indicators to illustrate this. according to instat data, the pace of economic growth accelerated to 4. 1 % in 2018. economic growth was broad based ; it reflected positive contributions from the expansion of households ’ consumption, enterprises ’ investments, and exports. according to instat data, employment in the economy rose by 1. 6 %, whereas the unemployment rate at the end of the year fell to 12. 3 % from 13. 4 % a year earlier. the external position of the economy improved : the current account deficit declined at 6. 7 % of the gdp in 2018, and the indicators of external debt stability strengthened. budget deficit and public debt continued on a downward trend, reflecting the consolidation path of the fiscal policy, the economic growth and the exchange rate appreciation. the main indicators of banking sector soundness – in particular liquidity, profitability and capitalisation – remained at satisfactory levels. this dynamics of developments reflects, to a significant extent, the effect of policies, measures and instruments the bank of albania has adopted on continuous basis. in the