that in the global era, the real competition for fier region does not stand in the other regions of albania, but in those similar in the european economies and emerging countries. at present, we do not compete with these economies as we are not and won ’ t be able to be part of the global market as long as we are not “ quoted ” in real time, using the same methodology and figures that allow the comparison of costs and opportunities. the creation of these indicators, their calculation and rating in the relevant markets would create the conditions for the real assessment of the competitive advantages that this district has to offer. the help that the local authorities can give in identifying the competitive advantages and the provision of local statistics are perhaps the best investment they can make for the regional and national development. today, more than ever before, all the attention of global economy is oriented towards the markets, as the best estimators of the competitive advantages in the global economy. the developments in these markets are bringing about the reconfiguration of the economic powers at a global level. the new commercial and financial trends appear to be in favour of the utilization of natural resources and competitive advantages, through investments in emerging economies, to later import them in the form of final products, ready for consumption. these are advantages for the albanian economy, which, with the major structural reforms taking place ( privatizations, natural and human resources, creativity and the entrepreneurship spirit ), enjoys all the opportunities and should play an active role in the regional market and beyond, in the global market. i am optimistic and i do believe in our economy and its potentials. thanking you for your attention, i welcome any comments. bis central bankers ’ speeches

ardian fullani : improving the performance of albania ’ s banking sector speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the year - end event with the albanian association of banks, tirana, 17 december 2013. * * * dear bank executives, your excellency ambassador sequi, dear mr. ilahi, dear mr. pencabligil, it is a pleasure for me to participate in this year - end meeting, as we reflect about the challenges we faced and the objectives we accomplished in this year, and endeavour to identify issues that may arise over the next year. given the celebrations time and the spirit of this meeting, i would rather not dwell upon all the issues i would have liked to. however, i will share with you my opinion on two issues i consider as important for a good performance of the banking sector over 2014. before moving on, we should acknowledge that the year we are leaving behind was a difficult one for the banking sector. in its development cycle for over more than one decade, this year, the banking sector ’ s growth slowed down sharply and annual lending levels contracted. deteriorated asset quality, dictated by credit, has led to lower financial profit due to higher provisions needed. these developments have reflected the overall economic slowdown and domestic demand drop resulting from lower private consumption and investments. however, other developments highlighted the banking sector ’ s capacity to properly respond to and cope with these challenges. the banking sector has maintained ample liquidity and capital levels thanks to the further rise in public deposits and added capital by parent banks. in terms of non - performing loans, obvious efforts have been made to restructure credit and sell off non - performing loans to non - bank financial institutions. the albanian association of banks has played an active role in discussing the problems with relevant authorities and identifying solutions through the regulatory treatment of nonperforming loans, notably, the legal amendments to collateral execution process, which entered into force in september 2013. through its activity, the banking industry may transform 2014 into a better year for both the banking industry and the albanian economy. i think that this may be achieved through harder work in the following aspects : the first aspect pertains to restoring lending to adequate levels in albania. this objective may be achieved by interlinking these three elements : a ) cleaning up balance sheets from non - performing loans. it is indispensible that you should mark evident progress during 2014 to write off loss loans from their balance sheets