gent sejko : bank of albaniaa€™s support for new graduates and the importance of ongoing education address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, to the graduation ceremony of the students of economics, university of tirana, albania, 7 november 2019. * * * dear students, distinguished members of the faculty, dear parents, relatives and friends, thank you for inviting me here and for the wonderful welcome. it is a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to address this audience on this special day for you, your families and the academic staff of the faculty. today, you have the absolute right to be proud, enjoying the reward of your laborious efforts and sacrifices throughout the years of your studies, from the first grade to the completion of university studies. i take this opportunity to wish you all successes in the long and challenging journey of postuniversity life. starting tomorrow, you will not return to university auditoriums, you will start making your own journey, as new perspectives and opportunities open up. starting tomorrow, you will enter into a new stage of your life, characterised by complex and rather challenging relationships. this is the big truth of human life, and i hope that you have already grasped it. looking at your achievements, the appraisal of your professors and the results from your internships at the bank of albania, i can only be optimistic about your ability and sagacity to find the right path in life. my appeal today for you is to embrace a different philosophy of thinking and acting, more modern and forward - looking, obviously always capitalising on our best national values and traditions. my advice is : never absent yourselves from knowledge and books. education is a never - ending experience and process, and will accompany you throughout your carrier, notwithstanding your specific engagement, a bright member of the academia, a successful entrepreneur in the private sector or an expert of important public or international institutions. to be on the top list, you should always update your knowledge on the most recent theories, trends and findings, which explain the most basic laws and functioning of markets and economy. as the administrator of an important institution in the field of the economic and financial policies decision making, i have always believed and supported the involvement of the new generation in the daily activity of the institution. beyond the fact that the new generation dominates the human resources in the bank of albania, we try to maintain the interest and the inclusion of students in our everyday activity, through a

regulation. for that purpose, specialised international institutions need to concentrate on a more detailed definition and cooperation in order to adapt them continuously with markets development. taking into consideration regional, demographic, historic and cultural specific characteristics is also important. the banking system needs to represent a culture based on best values of ethics, service and integrity. this should be the primary objective of all banking system managing structures, which will in turn lead to enhanced responsibility in banking institutions management. bank managing structures are responsible for a balanced management of their institution, where the objective for profit should serve to identify, analyse and professionally assess risks that accompany relevant actions. in addition, banking institutions and their staff need to reflect, in their public relations, the highest standards of security, communication and transparency, care and support so that this relationship of trust and confidence becomes a characteristic of mutual developments. the supervisory regulatory framework is being completed with a view to take these developments even further. banking supervisors, in turn, need to pay more attention to examinations and reports they prepare, integrity and behaviour that characterises the work of each bank. another great lesson we may draw from the crisis is to avoid at any cost huge concentrations and dependency on short - term financial funds. a top priority remains the adoption of prudent practices on risk management. composition and capacities of banks managing structures is another challenge for the banking industry in the future. the last crisis showed that in many cases, board members represented only short - term interests of shareholders, at the expense of other interests of the group. likewise, their expertise and knowledge should be closely connected to specific activities of the bank. the market and innovation move faster than the supervisor does. therefore, any innovation or new banking product, prior to being marketed, needs to be tested responsibly, assessing carefully all potential accompanying risks. in a more national context, it is necessary and actually completely possible for the banking sector to accelerate the process of crediting revitalisation, a development that supports not only the economy and the clients, but also the banks. crediting should be supported better through a solid growth of funding sources, especially deposits. in crediting, it is necessary to have a better sectorial distribution and a more reasonable balance among public and private investment projects, albanian lek or foreign currency denominated credits, therefore orienting crediting towards supporting the national economy. bis central bankers ’ speeches in this context, there is sufficient room for banks to support more crediting to small and medium enterprises and provide