the need to restore the public's faith in the foreign exchange market and the value of the global code in assisting that process and also in helping improve market functioning and confidence in the market. 1 see www. bis. org / mktc / fxwg / gc _ may16. pdf. 2 see www. bis. org / press / p150511. htm. 3 see www. bis. org / mktc / fxwg / am _ may16. pdf. see also c salmon ( 2016 ), ‘ rebuilding trust through the “ fx global code ” : reasons for optimism ’, available at www. bankofengland. co. uk / publications / documents / speeches / 2016 / speech924. pdf, speech given at the aci uk square mile debate, london, 7 september ; and s potter ( 2016 ), ‘ the role of best practices in supporting market integrity and effectiveness ’, available at www. newyorkfed. org / newsevents / speeches / 2016 / pot160907, remarks at the 2016 primary dealers meeting, federal reserve bank of new york, new york city, 7 september. 4 see afxc. rba. gov. au / news / afxc - 26052016. html. 5 see www. bis. org / press / p160526a. htm. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

investments are encouraging for a steady economic growth, and testify to the increasing competitiveness and attractiveness of the albanian economy. the effects of economic growth have begun to be present in almost all economic and financial 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches indicators. participation in the labour force and employment has increased, the unemployment rate decreased to 12. 4 % in 2018 q2, and wages have started to trend upward. also, the growth in aggregate demand has contributed to the improvement of balance sheets of albanian enterprises and has enabled a clearly downward trend in non - performing loans ( npl ). the npl ratio dropped to 12. 9 % in 2018 q3, almost halved from its peak recorded in the wake of the crisis. reflecting its performance and the recovery of economic activity, against the backdrop of low interest rates triggered by our accommodative monetary policy stance, the albanian banking sector remains liquid, profitable, and well capitalised. this sector appears resilient to potential shocks and has adequate capital and liquidity to cover the needs of the economy for financing. the currently positive momentum of the albanian economy has created adequate premises for the growth trend to continue in the period ahead. the expansion of aggregate demand, the favourable financial environment, the improvement of balance sheets, and the restoration of confidence in the economy form a virtuous circle, which will support growth in the medium - term horizon. furthermore, the long series of structural reforms – whether already undertaken or being currently implemented – should pave the way for faster, sustainable and comprehensive economic growth. * * * dear ladies and gentlemen, the topic of today ’ s conference is related with the challenges that policy makers face in terms of growth as well as of economic and financial stability. from a general perspective, these challenges pertain to : implications arising from the monetary policy normalisation in major central banks on developing countries, especially those that have adopted the short - term debt as their growth model ; populist phenomena, which fuel a protectionist rhetoric, are detrimental to global trade, and refrain the free movement of production factors ; and risks that remain present in the global financial system. from a more specific perspective, today ’ s economic, monetary and financial reality appears especially challenging for the monetary policy. this reality is labelled as the new “ normal ” of the monetary policy. let me identify a few of these challenges. the natural interest rates appear downward, potentially as a result of a combination of several factors : slowdown of productivity and of