to keep inflation under control and further its continuous reduction, at minimum costs on the economic activity and financial stability of albania. also, our rigorous micro and macro - prudential measures strengthened the stability of the banking system, while the continuous alignment of our regulations with the european union standards led to a considerable regulatory convergence, by reducing financial risk premia in albania. last, the ongoing advancement regarding the infrastructure and regulatory basis of payment systems has driven up financial inclusion and has helped efficiency and formalisation of private sector edging up. next, i will delineate in more concrete terms the main aspects of our work over the past year, by evidencing the undertaken measures and the achieved outcomes. monetary policy and price stability 2 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches the monetary policy of the bank of albania has continued to be oriented towards the fulfilment of our legal objective : achieving and maintaining price stability. in this context, i would like to highlight that still high and above - target inflation rates dictated the continuation of a normalising monetary policy over 2023. nevertheless, we have tried to implement a more flexible monetary policy, aiming not to undermine the positive development trends of albania and by taking care to harmonize it with the financial developments and the fiscal policy stance. in this context, allow me to focus on two important conclusions : first, the normalisation pace of monetary policy slowed down over the course of 2023. in this year, we have increased the policy rate only twice, with a cumulative effect of 0. 5 percentage point. this slowdown reflected the exchange rate strengthening and the consolidation stance of fiscal policy. in more concrete terms, rapid lek appreciation helped in mitigating imported inflationary pressures, while fiscal consolidation helped in curbing domestic inflationary pressures. in particular, lek strengthening has been and continues to be one of the most prominent economic developments of this period by providing an entirely positive impact on the economy. it contributed to keep inflation under control, by enhancing the purchasing power of albanian households, as well as enabling a more gradual normalisation of our monetary policy stance, by keeping financing costs to businesses low. consequently, albania has one of the highest economic growth rates, the lowest inflation rate and the slowest increase in financing costs, across regional countries. second, the increase in policy rate engendered an overall hike in interest rates in the country, though the overall financing conditions in albania still remain simulating. in response to them coupled with the positive approach

kevin stiroh : a microprudential perspective on the financial risks of climate change remarks by mr kevin stiroh, executive vice president of the financial institution supervision group of the federal reserve bank of new york, at the 2020 climate risk symposium, global association of risk professionals ( delivered via videoconference ), 10 november 2020. * * * introduction good morning and thank you for the opportunity to participate in garp ’ s2020 climate risk symposium. as shown by the strong turnout today, attention on climate - related financial risks is clearly growing within finance, both for the private sector and the public sector. today, i ’ ll speak about these risks from a microprudential perspective — that is, the impact on specific financial institutions, particularly banks, and how firms are managing those risks. i ’ ll also provide a short update on some of the work under way through the basel committee ’ s task force on climate - related financial risks — the tfcr. before proceeding, i ’ ll emphasize that i am speaking only for myself and not necessarily the federal reserve system or the federal reserve bank of new york. risk management perspective from a supervisory perspective, a primary focus is to ensure that banks operate in a safe and sound manner and manage risks so they are resilient to a range of shocks. as you know, the core of effective risk management includes identifying, measuring, and managing traditional banking risks like credit risk, market risk, operational risk, or liquidity risks. these risks can materialize from a range of shocks — a recession, a geopolitical event, or a bad actor. and climate change. the purpose of bank supervision is to ensure that supervised firms are resilient to all of these risks. 1 banks are becoming increasingly attuned to the heightened financial risks from a changing climate. these risks can manifest in a number of ways : the impairment of collateral due to severe weather events ; mark - to - market losses from the devaluation of companies with stranded assets ; stress to contractual cash flows as regional shocks are realized ; or the reduced provision of financial services as business strategies adapt. all of these are salient concerns for financial firms and their supervisors. financial firms are now incorporating these risks into existing risks management frameworks. many firms view climate change as a cross - cutting risk driver that spans familiar risk categories, broadly affecting risk management approaches. moreover, some firms are considering governance issues, the use of scenarios analysis, disclosure options, and thinking about the