economy ), and utilisation of opportunities and potential offered under regional cooperation, would rapidly increase the possibilities for doing business and investing, yielding direct benefits for both countries. dear guests, in the post - crisis period, our two countries underwent a process of deep structural reforms to revitalise the economy and establish solid foundations for sustainable growth. considering it as a historic moment, i think that better coordination of economic and financial policies would be of mutual benefit, especially with regard to albania ’ s fast convergence. i would like to assure you that the bank of albania remains deeply committed to providing a stable macroeconomic and financial environment, and guaranteeing a financially safe environment with low inflation rates. the albanian banking system is willing to support initiatives that contribute to development. finally, i would like to thank banca d ’ italia for its assistance in renovating the central corpus of the bank of albania and the former dajti hotel, two landmark buildings standing out in the city of tirana. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

payment systems. 2. banking supervision and financial stability the financial situation of banking sector is sound and stable. this performance is shown by the expansion of the banking sector activity, the increase of roa and roe indicators at 1. 4 % and 13. 5 %, respectively, and the maintaining at a high level of 18. 3 % of capital adequacy ratio. also, our stress test results show that banking sector ’ s exposure to systemic risks is contained, and its ability to withstand risks is robust. following, there are briefly summarised some of the main directions of our work for strengthening banking supervision and supporting the financial stability. first, the bank of albania concluded the work on the management of the banking sector consolidation process during 2019. the bank of albania has coordinated and monitored carefully the process, during this period, in order to avoid any negative effect and to ensure the well - functioning of banks ’ activity. currently, 12 banks operate in the albanian banking system, from 16 banks in 2018. during 2019, it was concluded the process of ownership transfer for two banks, the acquisition of one bank and the self - liquidation of another bank. this process reconfigured the domestic banking market, which currently experiences a higher presence of the domestic capital and increase of competition. second, the bank of albania has worked toward fulfilling all its obligations in the framework of the national plan for the reduction of non - performing loans. the nonperforming loans ratio dropped from a maximum of almost 25 % in 2014, to 8. 4 % at the end of 2019, attributable to the measures undertaken in years. the stock of non - performing loans reduced around 25 %, by reflecting the decrease of non - performing loans to firms. in 2019, it was finalised the regulatory framework for the implementation of tirana approach project. the purpose of this project is the establishment of a common inter - bank platform for finding an adequate solution for large past - due borrowers. the implementation of this platform will affect the further decrease of non - performing loans ratio in both short - and medium - term future. third, the bank of albania has been working vigorously to fulfil the recommendations provided by the committee of experts on the evaluation of anti - money laundering measures and the financing of terrorism ( moneyval ). in the fifth round on the evaluation of anti - money laundering measures and the financing of terrorism, the bank of albania has played a crucial supportive role as the supervisory authority for the major