gent sejko : the importance of media in analysing albania ’ s monetary policy address by mr gent sejko, governor of the bank of albania, at the end - of - year meeting with the media, tirana, 20 december 2018. * * * dear ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our end - of - year meeting with the media. i would like to thank you for your readiness, objectivity, and seriousness in covering the activities of the bank of albania and informing the public about them, throughout 2018. thanks to you, our analyses and decision - making have been communicated in a thorough manner, mindfully tailored and styled in accordance with the age and profession of the targeted audience. i must note that, in addition to broad geographic coverage, your comments and analyses on the economic and financial developments in albania have been very professional. at the bank of albania, my colleagues and i maintain that the current media reality is an important part of our activity. our decision - making could not be considered complete without your contribution. communication is a vital and delicate process for a central bank. i must emphasize that, without your help and objectivity, realisation of bank of albania ’ s decision - making regarding monetary policy and financial stability would have been an impossible mission. figuratively, i would point out that you are the ones that enable the translation of our analyses and conclusions into an adequate and easy - to - understand message for the general public. you have informed the public on our actions and interventions related to monetary policy, as well as on our decisions related to financial stability, market efficiency, banking regulations and other more specific aspects. this leads us to the conclusion that the level of reporting has improved significantly, which, in turn, urges us to be more demanding of ourselves in all the arguments and analyses underpinning our decision - making. i would like to thank you for your constructive role in reporting news items related to developments in the economy, finances, money, the banking system, inflation, financial stability, as well as to the risks towards which our economy is exposed. i would also like to assure you that the bank of albania will continue to be an open and very loyal institution vis - a - vis the media. the bank of albania will be continuously open to communication with regard to the entire spectrum of economic, financial, contemporary, professional and unbiased news. dear ladies and gentlemen, it has become a tradition now for us to organise, during the end - of

lesson we have learned from microfinance : our borrowers may be poor, but they have good paying habits! repayment rates for microfinance loans in the philippines are hitting as much as 98 %! nobel peace price awardee muhammad yunus of bangladesh is another case in point. if you recall, mr. yunus parlayed his microfinance model into the successful grameen bank, with a total loan portfolio of $ 6 billion for 7 million borrowers. in other words, he has proven repeatedly … that the entrepreneurial poor are bankable. he said : “ conventional banks look for the rich ; we look for the absolutely poor. all people are entrepreneurs, but many don't have the opportunity to find that out. ” providing credit access to smes is another challenge. according to the ups survey of sme competitiveness in asia, philippine smes consider access to funding and working capital as obstacles to their competitiveness. i hope therefore that cmap will find ways to help address these concerns. on our part, we at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas have launched electronic rediscounting to spur lending activities down to the countryside and also to lower transaction costs of banks. with erediscounting, banks may conduct their rediscounting transactions with the bsp in an online, realtime basis from their own bank premises. at the same time, the system allows bsp to process rediscounting applications within 10 minutes, release loan proceeds on line, and accept online payments for banks ’ rediscounting obligations. in addition, the bsp is advocating the passage of the corporate recovery act to update the insolvency law by putting in place procedures for liquidation, and thereby strengthen the framework for quick resolution of financially - distressed enterprises. this should balance the rights of creditors visa - vis debtors. i hope cmap will support this as well. another area for cooperation with cmap is financial education. in this regard, i am pleased to inform you that the bangko sentral and the department of education are principal partners in the incorporation of money management in elementary curriculum. the earlier children can learn about money management, the better. the bangko sentral is also conducting money management seminars for ofws and their dependents. we believe that learning the basics of money and credit management can help filipinos make smart decisions that will transform them into net savers and investors, fostering in the