and cultural diversity. graduating from roytec sets you apart in your community. it says that you can make a difference in the world. be conscious that as a roytec graduate you have the potential to do something significant and important. you should be aware also that you have the opportunity to be leaders and innovators, and an obligation to help shape your community for the better. oft times, leadership is not what is commonly thought. when i say leaders, i don ’ t necessarily mean politicians or ceos, or church leaders or anything of the kind. the demands on leadership will be with you all your life as parent, supervisor in your office, member of the pta, neighbor or resident in your community. with leadership goes responsibility to those who you lead and to the broader community, be it your neighborhood, your village, your church, or your club. after all, these situations provide an opportunity for you as the leader, to give back. now i know that at times community involvement would be difficult, as you also have to juggle family and career but i encourage you to make the effort. i am sure that you will find it worthwhile. in addition to looking out for the less - fortunate your new status requires you to understand the real imperatives of being a quality citizen in our still - evolving democracy – and by that i mean one who is attuned to and has an opinion on the public issues that affect the society, and who is prepared to stand up and be counted, if and when the need arises. i notice that a significant proportion of the graduands are women and some of you will need to strike a balance between career objectives and family. it is a major challenge but the balance is worth struggling for since the breakdown of the family is at the centre of so many of our societal ills. let me conclude this speech by acknowledging that graduates almost always remember their graduation ( at least they have photographs of it ) but they almost never remember anything from their graduation address. i put the question to my kids and, as i expected, they remembered little or nothing. interestingly enough i remembered something from my graduation speech almost forty years ago and it was this “ education makes us what we are ”. that theme stuck with me not only because it sounded profound, but because my personal experience proved it to be true. i do believe that education has made me, as a person, as a professional and as a member of the community. and

distinguished journalists, media representatives, i am very honored with your presence today to mark together the completion of a successful year for the central bank of the republic of kosovo and the financial system of kosovo. the cbk, through its activities, has continued to provide a stable financial system and support the country's economic development. part of our success is also communication with the media which play an important role in informing the public about developments in the country's economic system. transparency with the public and communication with the media is of particular importance, and during this year we have greatly advanced cooperation in this field. we consider that this year we have had effective communication with the media providing the necessary information and clarifications at all times. * * * now, let me present to you a summary of the most important developments in the financial system and economy of the country during 2019, of course with the most recent data available. * * * according to preliminary assestments, economic growth for year 2019, is expected to be around 4. 2 %, an increase largely supported by the growth of investment and improvement in net exports. a similar pace of economic growth, according to the cbk forecasts, is expected in the next year. the average annual inflation rate until november 2019 has increased by 2. 8 %, compared to the 0. 9 % rate in the same period last year. the increase in inflation rate this year is mainly a result of rising food prices. * * * banking sector continued this year as well with high credit growth, improving conditions for private sector access to credit, and increased financial sustainability. at the end of october 2019, banking sector loans reached 2. 98 billion euros. annual credit growth remains high at an annual rate of 10 %. deposits continue to be the main source of financing for faqe 1 nga 5 the banking sector, the amount of which amounted to euro 3. 75 billion during this period, which represents a very high annual growth of 16 %. this high deposit growth, among other things, reflects the high public confidence in the banking sector. interest rates on loans continued downward trend, decreasing to 6. 5 % from 6. 6 % as they were in the same period last year, thus, reflecting continued improvement in market conditions, and facilitating access to bank financing. financial health indicators continued to show a high level of sustainability of this sector in all aspects. it should be particularly emphasized very good quality of the loan portfolio with a rate of nonper