bashkim nurboja : the number of businesses with women owners continues to increase speech by mr bashkim nurboja, acting governor of the central bank of the republic of kosovo, at the launch ceremony of two new guarantee windows for " women in business " and " start - up ", from the kosovo credit guarantee fund, pristina, 26 april 2023. * * * the honourable minister, the honourable mr. berisha, dear attendees, it is a special pleasure to be part of this ceremony that marks the seventh anniversary of the establishment of the kosovo credit guarantee fund, and also of the launch of two new guarantee windows, for women in business and start up. the kosovo credit guarantee fund, with the support of international friends and partners, within a relatively short period of time has managed to transform into a very important institution, playing a special role in increasing and facilitating financing for the country's economy. bank lending continues to be a very important and sustainable source of financing for the private sector in kosovo. the value of banking sector loans until february, 2023 has reached 4. 38 billion euros, marking an annual increase of 15. 1 %. although there is a satisfactory trend of credit growth in the country, the level of financial intermediation in kosovo should increase even further, and that in relation to the size of the economy, there is further room for expansion of lending activity, and especially for the inclusion of women in economic activities. a very important role in filling this space is played by the kosovo credit guarantee fund, which, through its guarantee mechanism, will enable the increase in lending and ease the conditions of access to credit. allow me to share with you some data from the banking sector ; the number of business accounts with women owners in the banking sector is 21, 247 compared to 104, 461 with men owners, or 17 percent of the total accounts, the value of deposits of businesses with women owners is 112 million euros or 7 percent of the total deposits of businesses from 1. 7 billion. the number of loans of women - owned businesses is 8, 185 or 25 percent of the number of business loans, compared to the number of loans of 24, 546 or 74 percent of businesses with male owners. meanwhile, the value of loans to women - owned businesses is 643 million euros or 29 percent of the total business loans of 2. 2 billion. therefore, the new guarantee window for women in business, in addition to being good news for new

avoid several banks going under. the programme aimed at supporting banks ’ capital and at guaranteeing bonds was a government initiative, even if the ecb made a technical contribution. and this is exactly how it should be. if something can be said to have gone wrong, it was with the implementation of the measures, not with the decision itself. the ecb has repeated its invitation to financial institutions many times to make full use of the state measures for increasing capitalisation in the banking system. if this doesn ’ t happen, there is a risk that the retroactive effect of the current recession on banks ’ accounts will cause the banks ultimately to reduce their financing of the real sector, thereby further exacerbating the economic crisis. evidently, there is not enough incentive for bank shareholders and bank managers to make use of such instruments, the shareholders out of fear that their shares will drop in value, and the managers for fear of operational and pay structure constraints. this poses a problem in terms of coordinating behaviour, which has to be resolved by policy - makers. however, time constraints prevent us from exploring this matter any further today. i would like to conclude by looking to the future. i agree with franco bruni ’ s analysis and recommendations. this crisis affirms the need for fully independent central banks in which the appointment of executive board members is not linked to electoral cycles, and where such members have long - term mandates. it also confirms how important it is for price stability to be the primary objective of monetary policy. this experience has shown that having more objectives than this does not make the task any easier, neither in terms of preventing a crisis, nor resolving it. given the objective of price stability, central banks should also aim to contribute to financial stability but they should also have instruments at their disposal to achieve this. finally, whenever central banks are given specific powers, they are also expected – and rightly so – to exercise accountability. franco bruni is no exception, but in this regard he cannot be distinguished from a certain trend which erroneously considers the ecb to be less accountable than the federal reserve, particularly with regard to parliament. the appendix gives details about the methods of reporting to the respective parliaments, in terms of reporting, hearings and responses to questions posed by the parliament. it can be confirmed from this that the ecb reports with the same intensity and frequency as the us central bank. this does not mean that the quality of interaction cannot be improved, but this depends, to a large