after all of the u. s. banking agencies complete their review and approval processes, meaning it will then be " officially " out for comment. we are pleased that the agencies have reached agreement on the draft npr, since, as you know, we have spent substantial time and considerable effort on the document. we also recognize the extent to which the industry, congress, and others have anticipated the release of this document - - and the greater detail it contains about basel ii in the united states. of course, we look forward to hearing feedback on the npr. your comments and those from others will contribute importantly to the assessment of basel ii objectives and its implementation, and will help us as we develop the framework further. reasons for pursuing basel ii i think it is helpful, as we anticipate release of the npr, to review the reasons we are developing u. s. proposals for basel ii. the current basel i capital framework, adopted nearly twenty years ago, has served us well but has become increasingly inadequate for large, internationally active banks offering ever - more complex and sophisticated products and services. we need a revised capital framework for these banks, and we believe that basel ii is such a framework. one of the major ways in which basel ii should improve safety and soundness is by more closely linking capital requirements to risk. the current basel i measures are not very risk sensitive and do not provide meaningful measures to bankers, supervisors, or the marketplace for complex banking organizations. under basel i, it is possible for two banks with dramatically different risk profiles to have the same minimum capital requirement, and a bank's capital requirement does not reflect deterioration in asset quality. in addition, the balance - sheet focus of basel i does not adequately capture risks of certain off - balance - sheet transactions and fee - based activity - - for example, the operational risk embedded in the services from which many large u. s. institutions generate a good portion of their revenues. in addition to enhancing the meaningfulness of regulatory capital measures, basel ii should make the financial system safer by substantially improving risk management at banks. basel ii builds on the riskmanagement approaches of well - managed banks and creates incentives for banks to move toward leading risk - measurement and risk - management practices ; we have already seen some progress in risk management at many institutions in the united states and around the globe as a result of discussions about and preparations for basel ii. the new framework is also much more consistent with the internal capital measures that institutions use to manage their

anita angelovska bezhoska : the denar was and remains one of the key pillars of the stability of the macedonian economy address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, on the 29th anniversary of the monetary independence, skopje, 26 april 2021. * * * monetary sovereignty is one of the main components of the sovereignty of any state. today we mark 29 years since the laying of the foundations of our monetary independence – the day when the denar replaced the yugoslav dinar, and the national bank began to function as an independent central bank, facing numerous challenges in those turbulent times of separation from the former yugoslav state. looking back through years, we can freely say that the monetary independence took place in an extremely difficult period marked with high macroeconomic instability as its main feature. frequent exchange rate devaluations, when there were almost no foreign reserves, along with structural problems, ignited inflation, which reached four - digit levels, and all this had strong effects on the economy and the living standards of citizens. the economy has been declining 1996, when economic growth of 1. 2 % was registered for the first time since independence. hence, no doubt that establishing a stable macroeconomic environment required great courage, commitment and professionalism of the national bank team. the efforts of the national bank, together with other policy makers and the academic community, have played a key role in ceasing the inflation spiral and stabilizing the exchange rate of the domestic currency. in 1995, the monetary strategy of stable exchange rate of the denar was formalized – a strategy for which then and now there is a broad consensus that it is one of the key pillars of the stability of the macedonian economy. the benefits of macroeconomic stability have been enjoyed for 24 years. our economy is small, commercial and financially open and hence, prone to external shocks. despite the numerous external and internal shocks, the national bank constantly succeeds to keep inflation at a moderate level, which is similar to the european level. low inflation is extremely important for the protection of the real purchasing power of citizens, but also for maintaining the competitiveness of our exports without which small economies like ours can not achieve higher and sustainable growth. the maintenance of low and stable inflation, as the main goal of the central bank, is underpinned by the stable exchange rate of the domestic currency against the euro. the prudent monetary policy, as well as the good coordination