distinguished journalists, media representatives, i am very honored with your presence today to mark together the completion of a successful year for the central bank of the republic of kosovo and the financial system of kosovo. the cbk, through its activities, has continued to provide a stable financial system and support the country's economic development. part of our success is also communication with the media which play an important role in informing the public about developments in the country's economic system. transparency with the public and communication with the media is of particular importance, and during this year we have greatly advanced cooperation in this field. we consider that this year we have had effective communication with the media providing the necessary information and clarifications at all times. * * * now, let me present to you a summary of the most important developments in the financial system and economy of the country during 2019, of course with the most recent data available. * * * according to preliminary assestments, economic growth for year 2019, is expected to be around 4. 2 %, an increase largely supported by the growth of investment and improvement in net exports. a similar pace of economic growth, according to the cbk forecasts, is expected in the next year. the average annual inflation rate until november 2019 has increased by 2. 8 %, compared to the 0. 9 % rate in the same period last year. the increase in inflation rate this year is mainly a result of rising food prices. * * * banking sector continued this year as well with high credit growth, improving conditions for private sector access to credit, and increased financial sustainability. at the end of october 2019, banking sector loans reached 2. 98 billion euros. annual credit growth remains high at an annual rate of 10 %. deposits continue to be the main source of financing for faqe 1 nga 5 the banking sector, the amount of which amounted to euro 3. 75 billion during this period, which represents a very high annual growth of 16 %. this high deposit growth, among other things, reflects the high public confidence in the banking sector. interest rates on loans continued downward trend, decreasing to 6. 5 % from 6. 6 % as they were in the same period last year, thus, reflecting continued improvement in market conditions, and facilitating access to bank financing. financial health indicators continued to show a high level of sustainability of this sector in all aspects. it should be particularly emphasized very good quality of the loan portfolio with a rate of nonper

increased. in 2024 banks under european banking supervision reported a return on equity of around 10 %, compared with 6 % in 2015. banks'return on assets rose from 0. 4 % to 0. 7 % over the same period. during the years of low interest rates and low inflation profitability was much lower and it only recovered when interest rates increased. the non - performing loans ratio has decreased dramatically, from 7 % in 2015 to below 2 % today. meanwhile, all banks under european banking supervision, whether significant or less significant, are now subject to the same supervisory standards – applied in the same way across all 21 countries. and harmonisation with practices in the rest of the eu has also greatly improved. 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches so, clearly, good regulation and good supervision have been essential to create a safe and harmonised level playing field and to allow the eu banking system to play its role in the economy without compromising banks'lending capacity. they have also helped banks withstand some unexpected turmoil in recent years : russia's war of aggression in ukraine and the energy supply shock, as well as the banking turmoil of march 2023 in some other countries. weakening banking regulation and supervision would not boost the competitiveness of the eu economy. the issue of competitiveness should be addressed in a different way and the recent report by mario draghi has delivered some key messages, notably the need to encourage innovation and productivity in the european union. we all know that there are still significant discrepancies between countries that could create market distortions, in particular discrepancies in tax and corporate insolvency laws. achieving a harmonised single market also requires structural reform in all countries. i won't repeat here the rationale behind the need to create a truly single market for capital, but i would nevertheless like to emphasise that we need to complete the banking union. this requires, first, a fully - fledged european deposit insurance scheme and, second, a stronger european framework for crisis management ( and here i am referring to the crisis management and deposit insurance, or cmdi, framework ). both will promote integration and reduce national fragmentation. a more integrated european banking sector will be more efficient and competitive. of course, the ecb remains open to discussing possible simplifications and streamlining of its approach to banking supervision. the reform of our supervisory review and evaluation process ( srep ) is one key element. changes will be implemented gradually, starting in