unwavering commitment to maintaining price stability has led to anchoring inflationary expectations. inflation anchoring has brought about direct benefits to the economy, in the form of mitigating economic fluctuations and reducing the intermediation cost of macroeconomic policies. bis central bankers ’ speeches year 2011 was featured by an increasing harmonization of macroeconomic policies. these policies stimulated the albanian economy, but were prudent in terms of maintaining macroeconomic and financial stability in the country. in particular, the tightening fiscal policy made room for increasing monetary stimulus in the economy over the second half of the year. along with continuous liquidity injection, key interest rate cuts were soon passed on to the short - term financial market segment, while the easing monetary policy direction was followed by long - term interest rates. fiscal policy indicated an upward orientation towards consolidation over the past year. this commitment was reflected in maintaining the budget deficit at about 3. 5 % of gdp and the public debt at about 58. 1 % of gdp. although the prudent fiscal policy has a short - term cost in the form of absent fiscal stimulus, the bank of albania deems that the long - term benefits deriving from reduced risk premia make the pursuit of this policy necessary in the short and medium run. albania ’ s trade and financial relations with foreign partner countries increased in 2011, reflecting mainly the satisfactory growth of albanian exports and the increased import bill as a consequence of upward prices in international markets. current account deficit accounted for 12. 1 % of gdp, continuing to illustrate a structural vulnerability in the economy. the handling of this issue requires ongoing and speeded - up structural - reforms, in order to promote competitiveness of the albanian economy and establish appropriate balances among consumption, savings and investments in the economy. the banking system supported the economic development in 2011 with loans, liquidity, financial products and payment instruments. unlike the experience of many other countries, loan portfolio of the economy increased over the past year ; banking supervision framework was improved and financial stability was further strengthened. although non - performing loans increased, the albanian banking system, responding to strengthened prudential regulations of the bank of albania and our initiatives to enhance the transparency of its balance, remains solid, with adequate capital and liquidity to support the economic development. * * * i will proceed with a more detailed analysis of the foregoing issues, focusing on bank of albania ’ s main directions. * * * 1. economic and financial highlights for 2011 gdp expanded by 3.

researchers, to promote a deeper understanding of what makes community banks tick and of how a wide range of government policies affects the activities, profitability, and viability of community banks. the first session considers factors underlying community bank formation, behavior, and performance. the first paper looks at characteristics of newly chartered banks – where they form, and how they fare over time. the second paper also focuses on newly chartered banks, considering possible explanations for the near absence of new bank charters over the past few years. those of us at the fed pay a great deal of attention to this type of bank formation, because it is the primary source of new competition in the markets in which community banks compete. the third paper in this session looks at how rivalry among banks affects their decisions to adopt new technology, and the fourth seeks to explain the persistence of low net - interest income among community banks in recent years. the second session addresses the effects, both intended and unintended, of specific government policies on community bank behavior. one paper looks at how the 2006 commercial real estate guidance for banks affected loan growth. 4 another paper examines the effect of the creation of the small business lending fund on community bank lending to small businesses. the third paper in this session focuses on what happens when banks perceive that examiners have given them inappropriately negative evaluations. the underlying theme of the third research session is how broad government policies affect community bank profitability and viability. the first paper provides an overview of the effects of the dodd - frank wall street reform and consumer protection act on community banks. the second paper considers whether a provision of the jobs act that modified the threshold for exchange act reporting for unlisted banks and bank holding companies helped or hurt small banks. the third paper contrasts the thousands of small community banks operating in the united states with the handful of very large financial institutions and proposes a new approach to regulation that recognizes the very different business models of these two types of institutions. the fourth and final paper takes a high - level look at the effects of regulatory policy on the structure of the u. s. banking system and the viability of community banks. on day two of the conference, you will learn about the results of a recently conducted survey that was completed by more than 1, 000 community bankers from across the country, as well as the feedback obtained from more than 1, 300 bankers participating in town hall meetings see board of governors of the federal reserve system, federal deposit insurance corporation, and office of the compt