. noting that the liquidity situation in the banking system has improved and public confidence has restored, the bank of albania has started to implement the exit strategy. more concretely, in the beginning of the present year, the bank of albania changed the form of its main refinancing instrument auction from fixed price to limited amount auction. it is with pleasure that i inform you that this change has been comprehended well by the market, given the stable interest rates in the interbank market. similarly, the securities ’ market responded positively with the 12 - month t - bill interest rates going down by about 1 percentage point in 2010. as part of this strategy, the bank of albania has restored the relationships of bank investors with the profit on their investment in albania to normal levels. resetting the free movement of capital regime, besides being an obligation for albania in the framework of the international conventions, provides a positive impact on albania ’ s perception as a reliable destination of investment and on pushing the entry of foreign direct investments into our financial system. moreover, along with the development of the banking system, the increase of the interbank market ’ s role and the enhancement of our political and analytical institutional capacities, the bank of albania is planning to improve our system ’ s refinancing operations. we are assessing the possibility of changing the operational objectives from quantitative to qualitative ones, expressed in the form of short - term interbank market interest rates. in my speech i tried to touch upon the issues that the bank of albania considers that constitute our near and distant future objectives. however, i would like to highlight once again what i consider as constituting our major challenge for 2010. the economy needs to be financed in order to ensure a stable development. financial intermediation is the purpose of banking activity. to this purpose, i once more draw your attention to be more active in this regard. the return of deposits has now provided room for the recovery of lending to the economy. the motto of the banking system for 2010 will be : every added deposit in all should be converted into a new all - denominated loan to the economy. in conclusion, taking advantage of this forum with the banking system, i would like to address to the albanian public at large as well. the last crisis that hit the world economy highlighted an important element of the philosophy that characterizes the day - to - day life of every nation. regardless of the similar recipes applied by individual nations, what is noticeable was the appeal on

supervisory and regulatory framework. moreover, the imf ’ s agreement and additional financial support from the world bank and the european union will contribute to restoring the country ’ s long - term economic stability, translating the macroeconomic stability into higher economic growth rates. i am confident the banking industry will use this moment to identify the best opportunities to restructure and improve its performance and expand its activity, thus reassuming its role as the engine for the country ’ s economic development. thanking you for the invitation, i would like to wish you all good health and a prosperous and successful new year! happy new year! bis central bankers ’ speeches