taken appropriate, preventive measures and have established a proper infrastructure to identify and report suspicious cases. the year 2012 highlighted important developments in the area of financial activity licensing. hence, two branches of foreign banks turned into their subsidiaries, reducing the risk of their exposure to parent - bank risks, enhancing their independence and the control level exercised over them by the bank of albania. an important change was also the transfer of 100 % shares of the emporiki bank from emporiki bank of greece to iub holding france, contributing to long - term and stable development of the banking industry. finally, in 2012, the number of non - bank financial institutions and the range of financial products and services provided in the market by the financial system increased. in 2012, the legal and regulatory framework of the banking system underwent important changes. the bank of albania and the deposit insurance agency, taking into consideration the european union regulatory alterations, prepared relevant amendments to the law “ on deposit insurance ”. in line with eu directives, the base of contributors to insurance scheme expanded, including the savings and loan associations. also, the formulas for calculating compensation were clarified and simplified. the assembly of the republic of albania approved the related amendments on 26 july 2012. the adoption of the new regulation “ on the establishment, licensing and functioning of the bridge bank ” improved significantly the regulatory framework on bank management in the event of bankruptcy. other important regulatory amendments and improvements took place on bank management, risk management and related structures, supervision decisions, as well as insurance and re - insurance activity. * * * besides the main directions of the bank of albania ’ s work described above, i would like to dwell on some other activities of our work. these activities not only help us fulfil our legal responsibilities, but also serve the development of the financial system and market economy in albania. bis central bankers ’ speeches 3. other activities of the bank of albania money issuance the bank of albania has the exclusive right to issue and circulate our national currency and to oversee and ensure banknote and coin quality. one of the biggest investments of the bank of albania to guarantee our currency ’ s integrity is the construction of the new building of currency issue centre, which started operating in 2012. the closed and automated cycle of controlling processing, packaging and shredding of banknotes takes place in this building. soon professional expertise on banknotes and coins suspected to be counterfeit will be made, hence fulfilling one of the obligations of the albanian state in view

approval at an earlier time possible. it is a set of proposals that we and international experts regard indispensable for the stability of the banking system, guarantee of deposits and recovery of credit to economy. finally, the long - term development of albania and the policies and strategies supporting it deserve greater attention. the bank of albania remains confident in the long - term development prospects of the country. these prospects are favoured by natural resources and low labour costs, but above all, they must rely on our opportunities and abilities to be integrated into the value - added chain of the european economies. the road ahead is long and arduous. in short and medium term, it needs political will and wisdom to carry out reforms, and increased attention to issues of albania ’ s macroeconomic and financial soundness. in the long term, the structure of the albanian economy should be more aligned with those of the european countries ; economic growth should be based more on production factors bis central bankers ’ speeches productivity, and albanian businesses should pay more attention to finding and exploring new markets. being heedful and aware of the challenges ahead, the bank of albania has started to analyse new tools and techniques to fulfil its mission. pinpointing the economic slowdown as the main risk facing the albanian economy and financial system, and assessing the role of bank credit to economy, on march 2013, the bank of albania adopted a set of macroprudential measures oriented toward promoting lending and lowering banking system risk. briefly, these measures consist in easing capital requirements to boost credit, easing liquidity requirements, reducing provisions for restructured loans, and increasing capital requirements for assets abroad above the rates required by the bank of albania. these temporary measures are another sign of our willingness to accomplish the mission and our legal duties. * * * concluding, i would like to point out that the bank of albania ’ s 2012 annual report and financial statements are presented to you. i remain open to any questions or remarks. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches