nor shamsiah mohd yunus : trust and integrity key principals of malaysia central bank ’ s first governor welcoming remarks by ms nor shamsiah mohd yunus, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the commemoration of the centennial of tun ismail ali ’ s birth, kuala lumpur, 8 october 2018. * * * trust and integrity. these were the key principles of the man who built bank negara malaysia and shaped the nation. some remember him for establishing institutions that form the economic pillars of modern malaysia ; some remember him for his contributions to the nation and the financial system. some may remember him as family, or a good friend. not all had the privilege to meet him, but all remember governor ismail ali as a paragon of trust and integrity. despite being the hands that shaped malaysia ’ s early history, little has been written of governor ismail ali. stories of his discipline, thrift and dedication only passed through word - of - mouth, rarely put to paper. his wisdom and experience, whispered from ear - to - ear, risk being lost to the winds of time. it is my great pleasure to welcome you today. indeed, it is our privilege to have prime minister tun dr. mahathir to grace today ’ s event and tun dr. siti hasmah mohd ali to deliver a special tribute speech. few may know that governor ismail ali is the brother of tun dr siti hasmah and the brother - in - law of our prime minister. we are honoured today to have the presence of tan sri mohamed hashim, dato ’ dr. zainal abidin and hajjah siti jameah, siblings of governor ismail ali, as well as mr. ahmad kamal, governor ismail ali ’ s son. i am also honoured to welcome back to the bank those who have worked alongside governor ismail ali. equally important, we are grateful to have with us the international central banking community, who are travelling to bali for the imf and world bank group annual meetings and have taken time from your busy schedules for this occasion. this indeed underscores the appreciation towards central bank cooperation built on trust and friendship. this book is to honour governor ismail ali as a nation builder ; a titan of the malaysian economic and financial sector. he was an unassuming man but he powered the wheels of the nation – and each turn on the wheel left a mark on history. we have spoken to more than twenty individuals

effective banking system. regardless of what i mentioned above, sincerely feeling myself as a part of the banking system i would envisage that it needs better and faster motivation to reach higher contemporary standards in all the aspects of the banking activity. the banking system has experienced remarkable developments recently. after the licensing of popular bank, with albanian capital, the number of banks increased from 15 to 16, and a preliminary license is granted to union bank ( albanian capital ), which is expected to raise the number of banks to 17 over 2005. the system assets have further increased by 14 percent while there was an increase of banking products and an expansion of their network after the successful privatisation of the savings bank from reiffeissen bank, austria. during this year there will be sold the public shares of both the italian albanian bank and united bank of albania, which will lead to an increase of effectiveness and banking competition, paving the way to the processes of selling, merging and acquisitions towards a new consolidation of the banking system. the lending activity increased by 38 percent where one can distinguish inter alia the significant growth of medium - term and long - term loans compared to short - term loans. the map of coverage of the country with the banking system has further expanded, including new areas ever covered before. at the end of 2004, the total number of branches reached 88, or 11 branches more that the end of the previous year, while the number of agencies recorded for the first time a full three - digit number, 100 and the number of the employed people increased by 26 percent. the high increase of the number of branches relative to agencies shows that banks are not interested only in providing the service of collecting deposits but also in providing other products like crediting to the economy. these developments, besides their positive contribution in enhancing the financial intermediation speak for a better perception of the investing potential from banks, in albania. an outstanding development is mainly related to the client service, which is accompanied through electronic terminals by the increasing number of electronic cards in circulation. banks offer already debit and credit cards in co - operation with international companies such as visa and mastercard. six banks provide the atm service and the number of atms reached 108 by the end of february 2005. the banking system results to have a profit level, which has been increasing to lek 5. 1 billion. return on equity ( roe ) was estimated at 21 percent while credit quality is only 4. 2 percent, from 4. 6 percent in the