instead, how we promote road safety and prevent car accidents, which require the simultaneous application of standards for • driver education and competence ; • automobile operations and safety ; and • road quality and appropriate signage. a similar tri - fold approach for financial stability would entail clear objectives accompanied by the necessary powers and instruments for bis central bankers ’ speeches • financial education and information for consumers, lenders and investors ; • microprudential regulation and supervision ; and • macroprudential monitoring and regulation. a broader contribution for central banks so how can central banks broaden their contribution to financial stability? by promoting financial stability through the following measures : first, by encouraging prudence on the part of borrowers and lenders. most central banks publish or contribute to financial system reviews or financial stability reports. such reviews or reports monitor and assess financial vulnerabilities and risks and serve as an early warning mechanism. in addition, the underlying analysis in them provides a basis for recommendations for pre - emptive policy actions. these publications are thus an important means for central banks to contribute to financial stability. for example, the bank of canada has used its financial system review to inform households and lending institutions of our assessment of the vulnerability associated with elevated household debt in an effort to encourage all parties to exercise appropriate caution. second, by enhancing market discipline through increased transparency. by making their analyses and assessments public, central banks can increase awareness of financial system vulnerabilities, risks and their potential triggers so that investors and other market participants can appropriately price and manage risk. third, by strengthening regulation and supervision of the financial sector. since the crisis, the regulatory and supervisory framework for financial systems has been strengthened, and more rigorous global standards have been implemented in many jurisdictions. central banks contributed to the development of these standards through their involvement in international forums such as the financial stability board and other standardsetting bodies. an important example is the basel iii regulatory reforms, which require banks to hold more and higher - quality capital and meet new liquidity and leverage requirements and have thus made the banking system more resilient. while some central banks, including the bank of canada, are not directly involved in overseeing the implementation of these new standards, they can help evaluate their effectiveness. by working with regulators to implement coherent macro stress tests on the banking system they can jointly assess the ability of the banking system to withstand severe macroeconomic shocks. these tests would incorporate existing vulnerabilities. their main goal is to encourage the institutions themselves,

of weak demand - induced inflationary pressures. developments in the real sector of the economy conditioned the controlled price rise of domestic products. these tendencies have been reflected in the downward trend of core inflation and low non - traded inflation of the consumer price index basket. consumer price performance continued to reflect the low pressures from other cost elements. in particular, import prices were low and given the relative exchange - rate stability, they transmitted low pressures from imported inflation. following the economic contraction in the first quarter, albanian economy fell by 2. 0 % y - o - y, in the second quarter. economic activity growth was generated by agriculture, industry sectors and some branches of the services sector, while the construction sector fell sharply. bis central bankers ’ speeches from the viewpoint of aggregate demand, the second quarter ’ s economic growth was mostly supported by the foreign demand, while the domestic demand remained sluggish. consumer spending, though higher than in the first quarter, did not return to past year ’ s rates of increase. this component of the domestic demand remained influenced by the perceived uncertainty, lacked dynamisms in the labour market and slowed available income. confronted with a low ultimate demand for their products and in the presence of spare capacities and relatively tight lending terms, private investments also remained low. in particular, during the first half of the year, the low private investment level reflected households ’ low demand for housing. public spending and fiscal stimulus were also weak, reflecting the consolidating fiscal policy and observing the fiscal restrictions required by law. fiscal consolidation, which is based mostly on reduced expenditure, is illustrated through the downward trend of budget deficit over the period. the budget deficit resulted about all 25. 7 billion during the first three quarters of the year, down by about 19 %, y - o - y. until september, the realised expenditures were about 0. 2 % lower than a year earlier, while the budget income increased 2. 3 %. the data on developments in the external sector of the economy show albania ’ s significantly improved external position. the value of exports increased 6. 7 %, y - o - y, in the first quarter, reflecting the moderation in the foreign demand and performance of global market prices. over the period, imports contracted by 0. 9 %, y - o - y. these developments led to an annual contraction of trade deficit by 5. 4 % until august, positively influencing the aggregate demand growth. also, the sharply decreased current account deficit in the second quarter