banks, largely concentrated on their loan exposures, could be around usd 283 billion until the end of 2010. these potential losses would be cushioned by provisions and retained earnings over the next two years. i want to stress that estimates of potential future write - downs on banks ’ securities and loans depend crucially on the assumptions made and the methodology used and they are subject to a considerable margin of error. bearing in mind the significant uncertainty surrounding all available estimates, further efforts are needed to obtain as accurate figures as possible because the magnitude of the expected potential write - downs has weighed heavily on investor confidence and has affected already - weakened financial institutions. euro area insurers ’ investment exposures finally, allow me to make a few points with regard to euro area insurance companies. large euro area insurers suffered a deterioration in their financial conditions in the second half of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. most of them reported declines in premium income, as falling equity prices and widening credit spreads lowered the demand for life insurance products. at the same time, non - life insurance business lines were challenged by the deterioration in the economic environment which adversely affected the demand of households and firms for their products. in addition, insurers endured a significant erosion of their investment income because of stresses in many of the financial markets in which they mainly invest, especially corporate bonds and equities. as can be seen in chart 14, the biggest investment exposure of euro area insurers relates to corporate and government bonds, on average about 60 % of total investment in 2008 for a sample of large insurers, up from 46 % in 2007. in addition, many insurers have investment exposures to structured credit products. continued high yields on corporate bond and structured credit products have led to large unrealised losses in many insurers ’ “ available for sale ” bond portfolios. insurers may have to sell such securities and realise losses if the ratings of the securities they hold are downgraded or in the event of liquidity shortages. in addition, realised losses for insurers are likely to increase as corporate bond default rates are expected to rise in the period ahead. euro area insurers ’ outlook the main challenge that the euro area insurer sector is currently confronted with is a synchronised deterioration in both underwriting and investment income. this is illustrated in chart 14. insurance underwriting is usually supported by a favourable economic environment and the slowdown in economic activity is weighing on the

gent sejko : launch of the ebrd transition report 2023 - 24 opening remarks by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the launching of the ebrd transition report 2023 - 24, tirana, 29 january 2024. * * * dear participants, the bank of albania, for years now, has turned it into tradition hosting the european bank for reconstruction and development in one of the most important events in its schedule of activities : the launching of the transition report. this report, which opens the door to professional economic analysis for the year, is of great importance. the analyses, conclusions and recommendations provided in it have always feed the economic debate, on the challenges that the time poses and on the appropriate development policies in order to achieve the fastest and most sustainable growth, the improvement of social well - being, as well as the economic and financial integration with our european partners, in turn strengthening resilience against shocks. for these reasons, i am pleased that this year we are continuing this journey, with the presentation of the transition report for the period 2023 - 2024. this satisfaction is even greater when i find that this year's report invites us to a moment of reflection. while our activity focuses on the issues of the day, the topic of this report, - " transitions big and small ', urges us to look further afield. the quality of life and the affecting - related factors, the new geopolitical realities and their consequences on the development strategies of countries in transition, climate change, global warming and the reduction of biodiversity, are undeniable realities with significant consequences, on economies also on our society and communities. in this context, this year's transition report rightly has added value for its focus on the implications of transition on the structure of economies, on global supply and value chains, on climate change, on the need for sustainable access to raw materials, as well as on the living, working and well - being of the individual. to this end, i would like to place some of the report's aspects in the context of the albanian economy, in view of the messages found in this report. to begin with, let me emphasize that the albanian economy has shown a good performance in the face of successive shocks of the last four years. the sound foundations of the albanian economy, the flexibility of our private sector, coupled with the prudential macroeconomic policies we have implemented, have enabled a sustainable