; • views of traditional banks about the payments via mobile phones supplied by mobile phone companies and assessment of the preparation degree of banks for cooperation or competitiveness ; • new trends for the increase of payments security. which is the place of biometric elements? congratulations and thank you for the work you do. you are part of the future. we all are looking forward to the next meeting of a continuous discussion on the forthcoming innovations. bis central bankers ’ speeches

ardian fullani : overview of albania ’ s latest monetary and economic developments and outlook speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, on the monetary policy decision of the bank of albania ’ s supervisory council, tirana, 30 april 2014. * * * today, on april 30, 2014, the supervisory council of the bank of albania considered and approved the quarterly monetary policy report. given albania ’ s latest monetary and economic developments and discussions on their outlook, the supervisory council of the bank of albania decided to keep the main interest rate unchanged, at 2. 75 %. the council deems that inflationary pressures on the economy remain subdued. under these circumstances, the monetary policy will continue to be stimulating in the period ahead, which will provide the necessary monetary conditions for compliance with our inflation target in the medium run. let me now proceed with an overview of economic developments and key issues discussed at today ’ s meeting. data for the first quarter of 2014 are generally in line with our previous assessments of the albanian economy and financial situation. weak aggregate demand continues to characterise the economy, further impacting almost all the economic and financial parameters in the country. in response to the weak aggregate demand, economic growth remains low and the albanian economy continues to operate below its potential. the spare production capacities, both in the labour and capital markets, are reflected in low increase of employment and production costs, followed by weak inflationary pressures. from the financial point of view, the weak economic growth puts upward pressure on the budget deficit and public debt, and creates financial difficulties for businesses. these difficulties are reflected in higher non - performing loans in the economy, and negatively affect the banks ’ willingness to lend. such problems have been and continue to be present in the albanian economy. however, new information signals that 2014 may be a turning point for the economic activity in albania. the economic growth indices, businesses ’ perception and financial markets performance improved faster than our expectations. such a development, combined with the expected improvement in the world economic outlook, subdued uncertainties, improved business climate at home, implementation of stimulating macroeconomic policies, and acceleration of structural reforms, signals that the albanian economy may gradually improve in the quarters ahead. the current risks to this scenario will remain present. in the following, i will dwell longer in describing the expected developments and related risks, while trying to highlight the policies that need to be implemented in order to avoid such risks. annual inflation averaged 1. 9 % during the first quarter