from the strategic point of view the consolidation of research requires the improvement of economic data, the enhancement of cooperation between the public administration institutions and the academia, as well as between various countries, and the absorption and increase of human capacities in this area. following my speech i would like to briefly explore these three issues. economic research uses the economic data as its core input. consequently, the availability and quality of economic data represent a key factor to the development of timely and accurate economic research, to the maximisation of benefiting from them, as well as to the minimization of wrong decision - making and the costs it carries over. unfortunately, the availability and quality of these data cannot be labelled as satisfactory. in addition to problems of collecting and calculating the statistical basis, the data base is related to and influenced by the speed and various stages of the development of the albanian economy and by the changes of policies promoted by the taking place of these stages. the bank of albania has continuously and will constantly call on the improvement of economic data. in this context, today ’ s workshop places special emphasis on the discussion of the estimations and approximation of some economic time series for some important economic indicators, as well as on their role in the development, ethics and the quality of research of empirical nature. economic research is essential for a wide range of areas. hence, no institution can and less can a small central bank cope by itself with all the needs for economic research. quite contrary, the institutions need to identify the areas and issues of economic research where they possess certain comparative advantages and then, closely cooperate with each other. in this context, the cooperation between the institutions of public administration and the academia, the cooperation between different countries and the establishment of research nets on various areas are of prime importance. they would not only enhance the efficiency in carrying out the research, but also stimulate the professional critique and opposition and reach higher standards. the research mission described above, clear and well - defined within the framework of a central bank should not be understood as an isolate mission. the studies can not take place in a closed environment. they need debate and exchange of ideas with the academy, business and other interested stakeholders. in this regard, it is my pleasure to state that the bank of albania has made its research subject to reviews in activities organized particularly for this purpose ( inflation targeting, round tables, friday workshops, etc ). i invite you to do the same thing even during this activity. in view of debate and discussion, we

problems, the bank of albania deems that banking system ’ s balances are sound, sufficiently liquid, and well capitalised to comply with the economy ’ s demand for monetary assets. the positive position of its balances triggered the lending growth during the past years, while many countries in our region experienced contraction of lending. the banking system has reviewed and tightened lending standards during the last years ; this behaviour to enhance the financial discipline of the economy is welcomed and shall positively support the long - term growth of albania. on the other side, credit performance is increasingly experiencing the lack of demand, which is triggered by the consumers and businesses reluctance to carry out expenses and investments. bank of albania deems that, notwithstanding the cyclical situation of albania ’ s economy, the perspectives on medium and long - term development remain positive. this is reflected by the interest of foreign investors to increase their exposure toward the albanian economy. in particular, economy sectors related to exports, tourism and agriculture, which serves to the domestic and regional markets, provide unused development potentials. bank of albania deems that, within the sound business ’ logic parameters, the albanian entrepreneurs and consumers have room for a more active approach toward the growth of investments and their consumption. financial markets showed low interest rate fluctuation and operated under sufficient liquidity terms in the second quarter of 2012. the transmission of reduced rates is also observable in lek deposits market, followed by normal growth pace of deposits. by contrast, government security yields increased in the primary market, particularly the long - term yields. this performance has reflected the re - positioning of some agents in this market and the demand for financing in this period, without implying a shift of inflationary pressures. at the beginning of july, ratios improved and borrowing costs were reduced in the primary market. the second quarter also transmitted signals on eased interest rates on all credits from banks. nevertheless, credit - lending paces remain low and mainly designated for short - term use, leading to fluctuating interest rates. the introduction of new financial intermediaries, specialised in channelling the public savings to government securities, was a positive development, worth mentioning in the analysis of financial markets for the first half of year. his development along with the increased public interest on government securities, enhances the deepness of our financial system, improves liquidity, enhances its risk management capability, limits the interest rates fluctuation, increases the albanian public debt stability and provides pressures to reduce the financing cost of the public