end of the year, which is significantly higher than the annual rates of the pervious years. the credit balance rose by l11. 9bn or 30. 9 %. the new credit increased by 50 % meanwhile 76 % is in foreign currency. the loans / gdp ratio is still low, at about 7 %. the banking system experienced important developments during 2003 and in the beginning of 2004. the entry of two new banks of albanian capital was soon followed by the successful privatisation of the savings bank from the raiffeisen zentralbank ( rzb ) austria. now, all in all there are 16 banks in the albanian banking system. the boa has progressed in reforming the banking system towards international standards, with the aim of the developing and refining the country ’ s banking infrastructure. aips, inaugurated in early march 2004, can be considered as the backbone of the whole banking system infrastructure. the boa wishes to bring its central bank closer to that of the european central bank. therefore, changes and amendments of the bank ’ s regulations are aimed towards achieving this goal.

neighbour ’ s house. for one thing, the distinction between ethics and politics may be different in other countries. for another, when we say that a company ’ s activities are in conflict with the ethical guidelines, we are not only pointing a finger at the company. we are also pointing a finger, albeit indirectly, at the laws and regulations in the country that permits those activities to continue – and we are pointing that finger as a representative of another state. consequently, the guidelines for the exercise of ownership rights must be based, not on a specifically norwegian world view, but on internationally recognised norms. and we are open about our principles and practices without losing sight of the limits of transparency. declarations and resolutions may have their place, but in our day - to - day work we aim for real dialogue and results. the list of global issues that require urgent attention seems never - ending, and there have been calls for the fund to address many of these. but priorities always have to be made to avoid the risk of spreading resources too thinly. norway has chosen its goals for the pension fund based on a long - term perspective, and we do not want to be ruled by the tyranny of the impulsive and changing priorities that beleaguer many public programmes and sectors. there is another important ethical principle behind the fund, which should not be forgotten : namely, our obligation to future generations. for the prosperity we are enjoying now, incurs obligations. our oil and gas reserves are limited. justice would not be served if all our petroleum wealth was allocated only to the generation lucky enough to experience our “ oil age ”. we perceive it as an ethical obligation to invest our wealth also for the benefit of future generations. international capital markets play a crucial role in allowing us to fulfil this obligation. allow me the pleasure for a moment to look back on our less illustrious history as a borrower. twice in the past 40 years we have succumbed to the temptation of living above our means. the first time was in the late 1970s, when the norwegian state borrowed substantial amounts abroad. our current account deficit in 1977, at 15 per cent of gdp, set an oecd record and we were probably on the brink of having to ask for an imf program. we were investing heavily in the welfare state and in north sea projects at the same time, and these investments could not be fully financed on the basis of economic growth. the second time was during the years of economic crisis before