gent sejko : global money week 2024 in albania address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the opening ceremony of the global money week 2024 in albania, tirana, 18 march 2024. * * * honourable minister of education and sports, dear chairman of the albanian association of banks, dear students and teachers, friends and banker colleagues, i am delighted to welcome you as every march to the launching of global money week a€ “ a worldwide initiative that, since 2012, has been encouraging us in joining our efforts to enhance public awareness on the crucial role of financial education for our younger generations. this campaign represents a great opportunity for policy - makers, the educational system, the banking sector, and businesses to collaborate with the aim of reaching out to young people to teach them about the importance of money, planning, and making sound financial decisions. it's time for children and young people to actively learn about money and finances, gradually acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours necessary to ensure financial well - being and stability. this ultimate goal of global money week has acquired international support, with over 40, 000 entities across government and civil society, under the oecd - infe's guidance1, reaching approximately 120 million individuals in 176 countries last year alone. this figures, alongside with the growing involvement of albanian pupils and students, encourages and inspires us to provide an ever increasingly number of activities, competitions, educational lessons, and to deepen our collaborative efforts with bankers, educators, pupils and students alike. this year's theme, " protect your money, secure your future " highlights the necessity for a responsible and informed approach to managing personal finances, including the identification and understanding of potential risks of financial transactions. it is crucial for young people to identify risks associated with online scams, as well as other risks stemming from unreliable information and advice. to this end, the bank of albania, together with its partners, will be organizing a series of educational programs and activities nationwide, aimed at equipping youth and children with the tools needed to navigate the financial world safely. in today's digital era, young individuals are frequently exposed to financial advice, advertising, and investment opportunities through social media and their peer networks. it's crucial to comprehend that financial market participation, even in its most basic forms, carries broader economic implications. the innovative investment methods and payment instruments can enhance efficiency and reduce costs for consumers. they indeed

at the focus of bank of albania ’ s attention during the past two years. in order to reduce the negative effects of this risk to the financial system and the real economy, the bank of albania has intensified banking supervision. moreover, in march, we adopted some regulatory amendments to address the rising non - performing loans. in constant communication with the banking sector, the ministry of finance and the legislative authority, the bank of albania initiated amendments to the code of civil procedures and civil code. these amendments aim to alleviate the banks ’ balance sheets by improving the collateral execution process. they have started to yield positive results with regard to decelerating the rise in non - performing loans and reducing credit costs. as at end - 2013, non - performing loans accounted for 23. 5 % of the loan portfolio, rising at much lower rates compared to the recent years. during the past year, the albanian financial system and its supervisory framework were subject to an appraisal by the international monetary fund and the world bank ( fsap programme ). this process consisted in the performance appraisal for all the segments of the financial system, the supervision method, and approximation with international standards. it evidenced, among others, the capacity of public authorities to identify and manage diverse risks and the inter - institutional cooperation to maintain the stability of the country. from this perspective, interconnection of financial system segments that are supervised by different institutions was underlined as very important. similarly, it was pointed out that the responsibility to safeguard financial stability depends on policy coordination by all relevant authorities. the process concluded that the financial system is able to withstand the international financial crisis and that the actions taken by the authorities to identify and manage risks have been on the right direction and extent. moreover, it found that the supervisory process at the bank of albania is highly compliant with basel ’ s core principles for effective banking supervision. year 2013 was a challenging year for the supervisory process of the banking system. in addition to direct involvement in evaluation processes of the financial stability, the bank of albania is involved in other main projects related to : addressing non - performing loans case by case, guidelines on loan restructuring and real estate appraisal, guidelines on recovery and resolution plans, developing credit instrument for development policies, and improving reporting standards. in parallel, it amended the regulatory and supervisory framework to adapt it to the new financial conditions and approximate it with the new international standards. with regard to the latter, we have worked to gradually transfer the supervisory practices from basel