of banks, credit portfolio to private sector grew steadily and rapidly over 2023, presently standing at 14 %. growth in lending was characterised by certain positive features : i ) new loans were broadlybased by sector ; ii ) it was concentrated in our national currency ; iii ) it showed an increasing orientation towards investment financing, and did not jeopardise the overall quality of credit portfolio. all the three features have continued and further strengthened during 2024. inflation and expectations on inflation, as a result of this reaction, stay already close to our 3 % target, while forecasts for the future are positive. banking supervision and financial stability the increase in interest rates and higher uncertainties experienced over the past two years in albania and worldwide, have created a challenging environment to banking activity and financial stability. nevertheless, our banking system and financial stability in albania appear solid. in particular, the albanian banking sector closed 2023 with a 3 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches positive financial result, a high liquidity and capitalisation level, and a further improved credit quality. our analyses show that systemic risks to banking sector remain contained. in particular, two important achievements were recorded by the albanian financial sector last year. first, the removal of albania from fatf'list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, regarding the development of infrastructure for anti - money laundering and counter - terrorism financing, known as " grey list ", constitutes the pivotal point of the reforms undertaken by the albanian institutions, including the bank of albania, to fulfil the necessary criteria. albania taken off fatf grey list marks an important achievement for our country, the economy and the reputation of albania, as it is a demonstration of trust by the international community on the albania's dedication against money laundering and combating terrorist financing. second, upon the delisting from the " grey list ", the bank of albania has started the procedures to receive the equivalence status of our supervision and regulatory framework with the european union standards. our preliminary assessments suggest a level of convergence of approximately 90 % with these standards. therefore, we have submitted the official request to the european banking authority ( eba ), and we are expecting to start our discussions on the equivalence assessment process for albania. this equivalence assessment will enable the increase of lending to economy from the european commercial banks that conduct their activity in albania. the resilience, sustainability and flexibility of the financial system against the recent challenges reflect a supervision, which is both meticulous and efficient, as well

here i take into account either the facilitating of procedures or the increased safety for using these securities as collateral and for encouraging the interbank and lending market. 4. the last but not the least is to increase the possibility of commercial banks to be more present into the market, making it more liquid and solvent. how we think this process will be realized : 1. the ministry of finance and the bank of albania must review the regulatory basis that covers the part of treasury bills issuance and more concretely the agreement concluded by them “ on issuance of treasury bills in the form of registration ”. 2. the bank of albania must review the regulation “ on the secondary and retail treasury bill market in albania ”. 3. the commission of securities must review that part of the regulatory basis which is related to the licensing process of the securities register. 4. the commercial banks should proceed with the commission of securities, with the purpose to ensure the licence for maintaining the register of individual ’ s securities. 5. the bank of albania will prepare, after the completion of this process, the strategic plan of the movement of individuals from its windows to the windows of commercial banks. the time available to the bank of albania will also be used for testing the stance of “ individual ” investors in advance. in this framework, we would also like to inform you that the bank of albania is working for considering, at the shortest time possible, the possibility of increasing the participation amount of individuals, through the bank of albania, in the primary treasury bill market, as well as the application of a commission on new operations they will carry out with it. the new level and commission will affect only the individuals that would like to use the bank of albania to participate in the primary market. thanking you again for your attention, i would like to pass on to the discussions about the steps we deem to make. at the end of this meeting, i propose we come out with a concrete plan of actions for a successful implementation of this process.