of the legal infrastructure and lobbying in european structures. facing these problems in group rather than separately will allow to benefit and embrace the positive effects of “ economies of scale ”. i also invite the ecb and ec to explore the possibility of adopting a “ party ” treatment for the entire see region, by adopting a specific program for a specific group of countries ”. it might even sound overly optimistic i see this as a mutual beneficiary relationship. the region, on its account, does provide several important advantages : labor markets are positioned right in the middle between asian countries and new eu members ; sufficient investment opportunities in real estate and infrastructure as well as high return on capital ; it counts more than 20 million people and represents a fantastic touristic attraction as a product of an interesting combination of different climates with diversified geographical features and multi ethnic and cultural traditions. i think that means in real terms economic stability and sound long term regional geopolitical solution. thanking you for your attention i ’ m ready to take several questions.

. regardless i sincerely think that the process of transformation that has changed our societies since the fall of the berlin wall is irreversible. the real question is how long this process will take to be complete. i believe that laying down solid foundations for efficient allocation of financial support and financial intermediation will significantly shorten this process. this will also provide the necessary infrastructure framework for the integration objectives and will supplement this process with the support of private initiative. on the other hand, a developed and financially integrated region will be more attractive for foreign strategic investors, opening up the path toward regional development projects, particularly infrastructure, labour market, real estate ones where region ’ s banks might be the financing and co - financing ones. if i would have been asked to say with simple word how i understand the convergence process my answer would be very simple : the convergence means a set of performance criterion and structural reforms benchmarks. this means that each country should adopt the standards stemming from the acquis communautaire and different international codes ( basle ’ s ii ) combined with energetic steps in improving economy, society, culture and environment as well. i think this is a must for promoting financial market efficiency in the entire region. ” allow me to summarize financial system in the region along the following characteristics : - the system is dominated by commercial banks. financial intermediation role of the other financial institutions is weak. the insurance industry in most countries of the region is quite small and underdeveloped. traditionally poor governance, inadequate risk management practices and lack of consumer confidence have limited total assets held by these institutions, in the same time limiting to some extent the possibility to present a source of systemic risk to the financial sector. however this sector ’ s rapid expansion in some countries including albania calls for the development of an adequate legal framework for conducting insurance business and the strengthening of the supervisory framework. other financial intermediation such as leasing activities have grown sharply in the last years ( serbia, bosnia and herzegovina ) representing an important source of funding source for fixed investment and for small and medium - size enterprises. micro credit institutions have a significant presence in bosnia and herzegovina, being mostly established with donor funds but over the last years having shifted their funding source toward bank loans. consolidation into larger credit unions would be a viable method to be able to offer larger loans and provide more banking - like services. financial sector assessment program ( fsap ) calls for further strengthening of the underlining of the supervisory framework,