thomas m hoenig : monetary policy and shifting economic risks speech by mr thomas m hoenig, president of the federal reserve bank of kansas city, at the london school of economics, london, 30 march 2011. * * * introduction the past three year period has been a great challenge to policymakers worldwide, including central bankers. unprecedented steps have been taken to restore stability to the world economy and, just as importantly, to assure a sustained recovery. i certainly support these goals. while i argued for handling the largest financial institutions differently than was done, i supported the federal reserve ’ s massive liquidity injections designed to staunch the financial crisis. after all, central banks exist in part for just that purpose. however, when the crisis is past, it is incumbent upon central banks to return to another of their responsibilities : creating conditions for a sustained economic recovery that requires looking beyond shortterm goals to long - term consequences. for more than a year, i have advocated, not for a tight u. s. monetary policy, but for one that would begin unwinding those policies put in place during the crisis. in january 2010, as the recovery entered its third quarter, i expressed the view that the federal open market committee should modify its rate guarantee to the market. that is, while agreeing that policy should remain accommodative, i voted against promising “ exceptionally low rates for an extended period. ” as the recovery continued into the spring, i judged that the federal reserve should gradually shrink its enlarged balance sheet with minimal market disruption by disposing of mortgage - backed securities that were trading in the market at a premium. thus, i voted against replacing maturing mbss with similar or other securities. finally, in the fall, i questioned the long - term benefits of further easing monetary policy during a recovery – and i voted against qe2. today, my view has not changed. the fomc should gradually allow its $ 3 trillion balance sheet to shrink toward its pre - crisis level of $ 1 trillion. it should move the u. s. federal funds rate off of zero and toward 1 percent within a fairly short period of time. then, after evaluating the effects of those actions, it should be prepared to move the funds rate further toward a level that could be reasonably judged as closer to normal and sustainable. i recognize that these actions are not simple to implement. they would impact different economic sectors differently and to varying degrees. they involve tradeoffs in their effects

gent sejko : albania's economic and financial developments in 2017 introductory statement by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, presenting the annual report 2017 to the parliamentary committee on economy and finance, tirana, 17 may 2018. * * * honourable speaker, honourable members of parliament the bank of albania views the accountability process as an essential element in its activity. this process complements our institutional independence, enhances transparency and reliability of the bank of albania and improves the effectiveness of our policies. therefore, i have the pleasure of presenting today the work and the achievements of the bank of albania in 2017. i would like to start my reporting with three key messages that reflect the conclusions of our analysis and have been the common thread in our public communications over the past year. first, the economy and financial system in albania marked progress during 2017. the positive development trend is illustrated by the acceleration of economic growth pace, upswing in employment and decline in unemployment, and the improvement of financial balance sheets of the public and private sectors. this progress has brought our economy closer to its potential and has strengthened short and medium - term factors that support economic growth. second, the activity of the bank of albania in the past year has been in line with our legal obligations and the recommendations of the parliament. our policy and instruments have had a positive, across - the - board contribution to our activities : promoting economic growth, through an accommodative monetary policy stance ; strengthening financial stability, through a prudent and proactive supervisory and regulatory policy ; fostering development and enhancing financial system efficiency, through continued financial education, and cooperation and joint initiatives with other foreign and domestic agencies and partners. third, i would like to draw the attention on the fact that, albeit positive development outlook, the albanian economy continues to face medium and long - term development challenges. identification and mitigation of economic and financial vulnerabilities, prevention of potential risks, and continuation of structural reforms to accelerate the growth pace, are among the main challenges we face. our duty, as policy makers, is to draft and implement action plans consistently and persistently, in order to duly address all the problems we face. let me now explain these issues in greater detail the issues, starting with a general overview of key economic and financial developments in the past year. 1. albanian economy and financial system in 2017 year 2017 marked progress for the albanian economy and financial system. according to instat data, the volume of