communicates effectively with the broader economy, guiding responsible decision - making across the private sector and households. i strongly encourage you to extend your influence beyond the confines of the bank, engaging with academia and various interest groups to foster the continuous communication with the economy. this engagement will ensure that our policymaking is better understood and gains an ever increasing public support. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches i wish you a very productive discussion! 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

, the growth of aggregate demand has not been adequate to absorb all the spare capacities in the economy. unemployment averaged 17. 5 % in 2015, reflecting the unused capacities in the labour market. thus, pressures on the rise of wages, productions costs and profit margins were weak. annual inflation averaged 1. 9 % for 2015, up 0. 3 percentage point from a year earlier. to address low inflationary pressures, the bank of albania continued to implement an accommodative monetary policy. it lowered the key interest rate, increased the liquidity injection in the banking system and engaged publicly in maintaining the accommodative monetary policy stance in the medium - term period. the key interest rate fell to the new historic level of 1. 75 % at the end of 2015. these decisions have aimed at creating the appropriate conditions for boosting domestic demand, and for the return of inflation to target in the medium term. moreover, our monetary bis central bankers ’ speeches policy has been transmitted in lower interest rates across all financial instruments in the domestic currency. during the fourth quarter, the transmission was also helped by the shift of the budget deficit financing, from domestic to foreign resources. the shift has increased the liquidity in domestic financial markets significantly and has reinforced the downward trend of their interest rates. consequently, the average interest rate on loans dropped further during 2015. combined with the measures taken for reducing non - performing loans, monetary stimuli were reflected in the easing of credit standards. excluding the effect of write offs from the balance sheets, credit to the private sector grew by all 12 billion, or 2. 2 % in the past year. the monetary policy pass through was reflected also in the reduction of the euroisation in the albanian economy. at the end of 2015, lek credit to the private sector amounted to 41 % of total loans, from 32 % at the end of 2010. the bank of albania expects credit to perform better in the medium term, but this projection remains largely dictated by the further improvement of the crediting climate in albania. against this backdrop, i take the opportunity to reiterate that the national plan for addressing non - performing loans should be considered as a non - negotiable prerequisite for the growth of credit in the future. in parallel, pressing ahead with structural reforms agenda will provide for faster and more sustainable development of the albanian economy. 3. banking system highlights for 2015, indicators of banking sector soundness were evidently better than the regulatory requirements for solvency