of albania has approved several regulations focusing on microfinance institutions and development. this regulatory framework, comprises the supervisory requirements to start and operate a saving and loan association, the indicators that enable their reporting and their financial analysis, and the principles based on which the on - site examination of such institutions occurs. the regulation of the bank of albania “ on licensing the savings and loans associations and their unions ”, is the first document issued by the bank of albania in this area, representing a big step forward into the formalization of these institutions. it defines the documentation requirements for the license application, the deadlines and the authority that should grant the license. these requirements are directed to the single associations, to the union, and to the union member association. it has been recognized the role of representing union proposed member associations in the licensing process, meant also as an important tool to induce single sla to become union members. the number of the unions is certainly not limited. the other important regulation is that of “ the supervision of savings and loan associations and their unions ”. in this regulation, the bank of albania has defined supervisory indicators for certain typologies of risk that are characteristic of current stage of development of the microfinance institutions in albania. counterparty risk is assessed through the requirements for a consistent process of loan portfolio analysis. these includes the ways the loans are classified, their provisioning requirements, their potential individual or group guarantees, the supervisory norms of the loan quality etc.. in addition, the counterparty risk is indirectly controlled by the requirements in capital adequacy of the institution. there are also other risks that are considered in the regulation, for which certain requirements have been defined. for the liquidity risk, there have been set up various norms for maintaining sufficient liquid assets and limiting the duration of the loans. for the concentration risk, the regulation requirements focus on the lending activity, and set out the norms for the net exposure in relation to the total assets of the institution. this regulatory framework is meant to be actively orienting the activity of the microfinance institutions, and as such, will be revised as the developments may require. besides these two regulations, the examinations manual of these institutions has been prepared. it is based on the camels system we use for banks, and is aiming at assessing the adequacy of the internal policies and procedures, the quality of the management and the identification, assessment and monitoring of risks. the accounting manual is also prepared and is based

ardian fullani : interview with voice of america interview of mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, to voice of america, 14 october 2008. * * * what is the dynamics of this year ’ s meetings? is albania immune to this crisis? what measures have you as an institution and the government taken to cope with it? this regular meeting in washington has been special. besides permanent discussions with the international monetary fund and the world bank, priority was given to discussing about the grave world financial situation, the way to weather this crisis, along with possible solutions. at the same time, a special analysis was made for separate countries, of course albania included, as a country that has a program with the fund. so, participation in these discussions has been important. i would be interested in seeing albania not only in our framework but also in the regional framework and even broader, because this situation should be considered in perspective, not only for what happened today, but also for what will happen tomorrow. the week has been full of activity. washington has been involved in a special and unique whirl of discussions among important economic - financial institutions, policy - makers and international banks for finding a solution, not only for the moment but also for resolving the situation over the medium - and long - term, as well as for discussing about the future global economy ’ s prospects. many taboos have been broken and discussed around ; now the global economy is confronted with new challenges for the future. in view of this, it is important to emphasize the g7 meeting and yesterday ’ s meeting on the euro area, organized by the president sarkozy in france. the decisions of these meetings appeal for more action – rapid, well - organized and effective – as well as for more cooperation and coordination rather than competition and arbitrage in law and regulations. simultaneously, these decisions appeal for supporting public packages for a re - capitalisation of financial banking institutions, for putting the lending system into operation and for taking all relevant incentives in order to raise public credibility for these institutions, with the purpose to liven up the banking and financial system, as well as the economic life of different countries. in specific terms, what measures have you as an institution taken to raise the credibility of this public already concerned about the financial situation? i have said it time ago that this grave situation is not any longer a situation aggravated by international financial institutions or by various packages they used, as it comes out today, but it