been addressed to the heads of the respective units, the administrators of the bank of albania, the audit committee and the supervisory council, as part of the periodic reporting by the inspector general. xiii. financial activities of the bank of albania after intensive efforts by our staff members with the assistance by foreign experts, and in close communication with the external auditor, for the first time in 2015 the financial statements were compiled in accordance with international financial reporting standards ( ifrs ). this is a qualitative development for enhancing the financial transparency at the bank of albania. the bank of albania ’ s financial statements in accordance with the ifrs are expected to be finally approved on 30 march 2016, at the supervisory council meeting. it will also include the opinion of our external auditor, kpmg albania. following the supervisory council ’ s approval, the statements will be sent to the assembly of the republic of albania for information. honourable chairman, honourable committee members, the presentation of the activity of the bank of albania is a key moment for its annual activity. in my brief presentation, i tried to speak about all the aspects of our activity, and shared our expectations and objectives for the period ahead. in the full version, we have tried to include more data, analyses and informative sections. i hope that the annual report 2015 is in line with the expectations of the assembly, and take this opportunity to assure you that the bank of albania will continue its endeavours to improve its performance towards perfection in the future. bis central bankers ’ speeches price stability, banking system solidity, credit recovery, market supply with liquidity, reducing non - performing loans, implementation of best practices of supervision, strengthening of governance and enhancing communication with the assembly, the state institutions and our strategic partners will be major objectives for our work in 2016 and beyond. thank you for your attention! bis central bankers ’ speeches

entire regulatory framework for the security and protection of physical values and information at the bank of albania, enhancing both human and technology - related elements. a series of decisions have been made to strengthen the security measures and physical monitoring of the premises where cash is stored and processed, in the form of banknotes and coins. significant improvements have been made to procedures related to the inventory, processing bis central bankers ’ speeches and storage of banknotes, including those for destruction. particular attention has been paid to setting clear criteria to guarantee high integrity of the employees designated in charge of values or assigned in other units engaged in control, supervision or other similar activities. 2. economic developments and monetary policy the albanian economy continued to improve in 2015. the growth rate accelerated compared to the previous year, and the main indicators of economic and financial equilibriums have been overall improving. thus : • current account deficit reduced ; • budget deficit fell 1. 6 percentage points against the gdp ; • firms ’ balance sheet appear more liquid ; • banking system non - performing loans and profitability indicators have been improving. however, aggregate demand remains insufficient to fully utilise production capacities. subsequently, the internal economic environment has exercised low pressures for rising inflation, which have been further strengthened by the disinflationary trend noted in international markets. while upward, inflation continued to range below our 3. 0 % target, during the past year. following, i will present a summary of the macroeconomic backdrop underlying bank of albania ’ s monetary policy decisions and their results. according to instat data, the gross domestic product rose 2. 7 % during the first three quarters of 2015. available data suggest that the economy continued to grow at a similar pace even in the fourth quarter. from the sectorial perspective, the sources of growth are broader than in the previous year. with a few exceptions, all the sectors have contributed positively to the expansion of economic activity. from the demand perspective, economic growth was driven mainly by the expansion of private investments and improvement of the balance of trade exchanges with partner countries. private consumption showed volatility, but its contribution was positive during the third quarter. fiscal policy continued the consolidating stance. in line with previous statements, fiscal consolidation is the right approach for preserving the macroeconomic foundations. consolidation creates more space for the expansion of the private sector and produces long - term benefits for the albanian economy, for its capacity to withstand various shocks. however, while associated with higher employment and utilisation of production capacities