nature and outcomes of this cooperation. the crisis showed few weakness in the model of growth adopted by the emerging economies of south east europe, but is also true that, to some extent this behaviour was also encouraged by the development strategies of financial groups in the region, as it is also true that there was also some weakness in the coordination and collaboration between different european union institutions, such as monetary policies ( ecb ), fiscal policies ( of member countries ) and the inexistence of specific mechanisms ( such as bailout funds ) to safeguard the european union during difficult economic times. this conference pays homage to these lessons, while acknowledging the importance of coordination, by mutually collaborating in multidimensional institutional levels, within the region and with our common partner countries. we in the region hope that our foreign partners share this same view. bis central bankers ’ speeches the albanian economy and its financial market share similar characteristics with the other economies of the region. our main trade and financial partners come from the eu economy. therefore, developments in the eu are directly and indirectly transmitted and play an important role in economic developments in albania. our reliance on eu affected not only our economic development but also constrained the effect of policy measures. several european banking groups operate in the albanian financial sector. these entities brought into the albanian market a lot of valuable know - how and experience, playing, thus, a crucial role in the financial integration of the albanian economy to the european union. however, eu supervisory regulations and risk requirements for european financial groups, along with the approach in which they are implemented, are posing significant constrains on our economy and the efficiency of monetary policy to respond to economic developments. faced with new and stringent capital and risk requirements, banks are trying to comply by adjusting their future business plans and the size and composition of their balance sheets in the economies of the region. these tighter regulations approved by european supervisory and banking authorities and, subsequently, implemented by parent banks have already been accompanied by a decreasing level of credit to the economy. our research shows that further tightening of crediting, due to the legal reforms currently under way, could have an important effect not only on economic activity but also on commercial bank asset quality itself, in particular situation with non - performing loans. a deterioration of economic activity would play out mostly in the same way, leading to worsening of npl ratio, leading to smaller banks ’ profit and tighter capital constrains, along with slower growth. this second channel is seen as arguably more

lael brainard : strengthening the community reinvestment act what are we learning? speech by ms lael brainard, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the & quot ; research symposium on the community reinvestment act & quot ;, hosted by the federal reserve bank of philadelphia, philadelphia, pennsylvania, 1 february 2019. * * * thank you all for participating in our research symposium on the community reinvestment act ( cra ). i am happy to have an opportunity to learn from your extensive experience and expertise. 1 at the federal reserve, we value the cra as a critical tool for providing support to low - and moderate income ( lmi ) families and their communities. and we are interested in strengthening the cra as it encourages banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities they are chartered to serve. today ’ s research forum is one part of an extensive outreach effort we are undertaking to gather the best ideas for improving implementation of the community reinvestment act. over the past four months alone, all 12 of our reserve banks have hosted roundtables in locations around the country, from san francisco to boston, and from rapid city to puerto rico. the purpose is to hear ideas on improving the cra regulations from the bankers and community groups that have a stake in the cra ’ s success. in addition, we held two roundtables at the federal reserve board earlier this week to gather perspectives from national organizations focused on policy topics, such as housing, small business lending, and consumer credit. 2 we have also consulted with our advisory councils to gather their thoughts on cra reform. we have asked our large and community bank advisory councils, the federal advisory council and the community depository institutions advisory council, about their experiences with the cra and suggestions for improvements. we have also sought community perspectives. at our most recent meeting with our community advisory council, we asked for their recommendations for reform. 3 even though we decided not to join the office of the comptroller of the currency in the publication of its august 2018 advance notice of proposed rulemaking concerning revisions to the cra regulations, we have been reviewing the approximately 1, 500 comment letters submitted by academics, banks and banking trade associations, community and consumer groups, and citizens. so what have we learned so far from the comment letters we have reviewed and the roundtables we have held? if there is one common thread, it is that support for the community