more opportunities in lek crediting. in any case, the process of analysis, assessment, follow up and evidencing the credit quality should be pivotal to relevant structures in banks and should be carried out with maximum seriousness and commitment, conform to supervisory requirements. in this process, cooperation is needed with clients that are facing temporary difficulties. however, in the case of non - performing loans, it is necessary to undertake envisaged and timely actions to execute the guarantees and other forms of collateral, in order to recover maximum values. these actions are important while the bank of albania deems that the crediting activity of the banking sector will continue to face a challenging environment and targeted improvements for the credit quality will require more time to be realised. in conclusion, let me underline that, movement in the above - mentioned directions make a complex process which requires a two - way commitment and cooperation. it is with pleasure that i find that cooperation between us and the banking sector is seeing progress, both in field of supervision and monetary policy implementation. i believe this cooperation will grow among supervisors in the south eastern europe. on behalf of the bank of albania i would like to assure you that we will offer full cooperation in this regard. taking advantage of this opportunity, i would like to underscore that the bank of albania will always respect the public expectations and will fulfil, on time, its legal responsibilities in terms of maintaining the banking system and price stability. i thank you for your attention and wish you success! bis central bankers ’ speeches

##ity situation, continues to increase financial intermediation in the economy. allow me now to elaborate on these issues. the primary objective of the bank of albania is to maintain consumer price stability, which in quantitative terms is expressed as the annual increase in prices in the 2 – 4 % range and targeting the midpoint of 3 %. the bank of albania has successfully achieved this objective. different surveys show that economic agents report stable expectations for a low inflation. this consistent profile of our monetary policy has proved particularly useful in the last few years. we have had greater flexibility to implement a prudent easing monetary policy that promotes investment and consumption at home. over a several - month period, the bank of albania has made a number of decisions for cutting the key interest rate in the economy, the one - week interest rate on repurchase agreements, to its record low of 4. 25 %. it is a pleasure bis central bankers ’ speeches to note that the degree of pass - through to the economy is satisfactory and in accordance with the time lags in the monetary transmission mechanism. during this easing cycle, the annual increase in the inflation rate has remained under control and lek ’ s exchange rate has been stable. as a result, foreign direct investment and other portfolio flows have been stable, financing the major part of economic agents ’ current demand for foreign currency. macroeconomic stability is not an exclusive task of the central bank ’ s activity, but it reflects broadly the sharing of the same principle and harmonization of actions with fiscal policy. financial system ’ s stability, and the banking sector ’ s stability in particular, is the second main pillar of our activity. i can state that, in the recent years, we have devoted most of our capacities to meeting this objective. the challenges have been numerous considering that banking activity reflects not only the stability of the institution itself, but also the overall economic conditions. however, in close cooperation with the banking industry, we have succeeded in taking some measures that have enhanced the banking system ’ s resilience. as a result, despite the slower credit growth rate and lower credit quality, the banking sector continues to generate profit and remains well capitalized and liquid. in march, capital adequacy ratio stood at 15. 9 %, while liquid assets accounted for almost one - third of total sector ’ s assets. the banking sector has expanded its activity driven mainly by the performance of public deposits, which continue to grow at buoyant rates. we are, however