on - site inspections, offsite analyses and ongoing supervision. all banks were informed that upon this regulatory amendment, the process of collecting non - performing loans is part of the lending process and, as such, can only be carried out by entities being granted a license by the bank of albania. currently, there are 5 entities, which, in addition to lending activity, also carry out the activity of purchasing non - performing loans portfolios. 2 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches the further commercial relationships between banks and these institutions, regarding the sale and purchase of non - performing loans portfolio, are not a competence of the bank of albania. they are regulated by the civil code through contracts agreed between the parties. in the following years, the expansion of this sector was also accompanied by the further improvement of the legal and regulatory framework. new and improved requirements are approved for the licensing and provisioning of purchased credits, consumer protection and ethics in granting and managing loans in the system. in concrete terms, the bank of albania : limited the penalties applied to the borrower of a consumer credit to the extent of 30 % of the unpaid credit balance. this came as a necessity, given that the accumulated penalties for non - performing loans can exceed the credit principal several times ; limited the interest rates on consumer credits, by adopting the concept of " maximum eir " as an upper limit for the effective interest rates. this amendments aims to strengthen consumer protection against high credit costs, divided into interests, commissions and fees. in addition, aimed at providing transparency and client protection, the following updates have taken place : regulation no. 59, dated 29. 08. 2008 " on transparency for banking and financial products and services ", which lays down the requirements on the manner and form of providing information to clients on banking and financial products and services offered by the entities which fall under the scope of application of this regulation ; regulation no. 48, dated 01. 07. 2015 " on consumer credits and mortgage credits ". currently, after the imposition of these restrictions, the average effective interest rate applied by non - bank financial institutions ( which includes interest, commissions and any other type of fee applied to consumer loans ), has been reduced by 3 times, compared to the period before the entry into force. meanwhile, we emphasise that according to the implemented formula, the trend will always continue to be downward. from the moment of being granted a license, all these entities have been regularly subject to continuous on - site inspections, off

and should be accompanied by structural reforms across the board to boost the resilience and flexibility of our economy. * * * dear ladies and gentlemen, looking ahead, i would like to underline that one of the valuable lessons we have learned from the crisis is that safeguarding financial stability and maintaining a functioning monetary policy pass through are among the most important investments that a central bank can make for the future of the country. nonetheless, the challenges that lie ahead of the global economies will be increasingly complex, implying the need for informed and courageous decision - making in line with the developments of the time. what in today ’ s terminology is known as the “ new normal ” is characterised by many unknowns, while all policymakers require finding appropriate and necessary options to facilitate the decisionmaking of a central bank not only from the perspective of the good management of the monetary policy, but also from the perspective of the financial stability, protection of the consumers and of the economy against economic and financial shocks. hence, we have brought together with the lse the best experts from the academia, central banking, international institutions and the financial market to discuss the potential effects of these developments, to generate ideas as to which might be the adequate and optimum policies for addressing these challenges. the need to coordinate domestic policies, and fostering the cooperation and interaction between the markets and the authorities is evident. our experience in this regard is positive. the lessons learned from the crisis, and the scanning of the development level of the financial sector, have enabled us – under a successful cooperation with the government of albania – to pave the way for a full restructuring of the architecture for the regulation and monitoring of the financial sector, create functional mechanisms for exchanging information and coordination among regulatory agencies, and pave the way for concrete reforms for the development of the financial system, especially in the field of capital markets and payment systems. 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches this need for cooperation and coordination crosses the national borders. a comprehensive approach, at global and regional level, would contribute to preventing unwanted consequences, not only for small and developing economies – which are often consumers of financial regulation policies at the global level – but also for the large economies, which originate them. i believe that the conclusions of the conference panels will be very useful for all of us and will thoroughly portray and present the risks and benefits from the issues mentioned above, with particular focus on their treatment from the perspective of decisionmakers. thanking you once again for your participation, i wish