the third anniversary of the establishment of the kosovo credit guarantee fund honourable, mr rinor gjonbalaj, chairman of the board of directors at the kcgf mr christian heldt, german ambassador to the republic of kosovo, mr bedri hamza, minister of finance, mrs lisa magno, usaid kosovo mission director, mr riccardo serri, head of the eu office, mr alessandro tappi, chief investment officer at eif, i am honoured to celebrate today with you the third anniversary of the establishment of the kosovo credit guarantee fund. it has been a privilege for the central bank to contribute, within its legal mandate, to the process of the fund establishment, in particular in the area of proper legal framework. this fund has achieved tremendous success during these past three years, assisting the economic development and creation of new jobs in kosovo. within such a short time, the fund has managed to guarantee more than 2, 560 loans amounting to eur 100 million, with a guaranteed amount totalling to eur 47. 5 million. studies to date show that, among others, access to finance is one of the obstacles to private sector development. challenges faced by small and medium - sized enterprises for access to finance in one hand, and challenges faced by financial institutions during risk assessment of the financing of these enterprises on the other hand, are already known. so, by providing credit guarantees, the fund has assisted in overcoming these challenges by facilitating access to finance for small and medium - sized enterprises. therefore, financial institutions have channelled their liquidity into the type and value of proper funding for the needs of small and medium - sized enterprises. this additional funding mechanism has helped them to develop, create new jobs, and export, thus positioning kosovo at a competitive level in the regional and european markets. an essential prerequisite for the proper functioning of the fund is the interaction with a stable and efficient banking system. the continuous growth of competition in the banking system and the advancement of this sector have led to a decline in cost in bank financing conditions, and improvement thereof. the average effective interest rate on loans in march 2019 was 6. 7 %. this level of interest rates has now approximated the cost of bank financing in kosovo to other countries in the region. also, lending of the banking sector has increased significantly, raising its lending rate to ever eur 2. 8 billion, with an annual growth rate of 11. 4 % in march 2019. considering the high level of banking sector

our stakeholders. we also look forward to learning from you as you constructively critique the effectiveness of our communication and offer suggestions. key questions moving forward in this partnership are : what are the practical steps that will anchor the partnerships between us? how do we ensure a sustainably structured framework in which policy intentions of the central bank gain traction in the public domain? how do we reduce superfluous noise that occasionally cloud the greater and more fundamental achievements in the policy terrain? how do we move forward with the agenda emerging from the cross - fertilization of ideas that will emerge from the workshop? ladies and gentlemen ; the central bank proposes a structured capacity building programme targeting business writers who cover the financial sector. in collaboration with the kenya school of monetary studies ( ksms ), the central bank will be seeking the input of the financial media to develop an appropriate business editors ’ training curriculum that takes cognizance of the needs of the financial sector, in light our stage of development. in addition, the bank will be hosting a business journalists workshop once a year, which will be appropriately themed to reflect the issues of the time. furthermore, the central bank in partnership with other financial sector regulators proposes the formation of a business editors & financial regulators forum. the role of this forum shall be largely advisory and will be tasked with providing appropriate advice on public education campaigns on broad latitude of themes such as financial education & literacy campaigns, and other mutually agreed programmes within the core competencies of the media. i believe these proposals will be refined as we go along and what emerges from this workshop will further shed more light in this regard. once again i thank you for taking time off your busy schedules to participate in this workshop. may i also take this opportunity to appreciate my colleagues at the central bank for organizing this workshop successfully. and to the management and staff of enashipai resort and spa for the excellent hospitality extended to us. bis central bankers ’ speeches ladies and gentlemen ; with these remarks, it is now my humble pleasure to declare this workshop officially opened. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches