, reflecting the aforementioned economic outlook. therefore, the downward pressure on prices is likely to persist for a long period. the situation is the same in the united states and europe, and the view is prevailing in many countries that it will take a considerable period of time for the growth rate of prices to return to a desirable level, while the level itself differs between countries. what is critical in the conduct of economic policy is whether there is a possibility of the price declines leading to a vicious circle that a decline in prices will induce a deterioration in economic conditions, which will in turn lead to a further decline in prices – the so - called deflationary spiral. to that end, there are two key factors for judgment. the first is whether the stability of the financial system is being maintained. looking back in history the cases in which price declines caused a contraction in economic activity, most cases coincided with the period of significant financial system instability, as typified during the u. s. great depression in the 1930s. japan's financial system has so far been generally stable, and in that regard the bank does not judge that the risk of the economy falling into a deflationary spiral has increased. and the second is whether firms and households'inflation expectations in the medium to long term decline. various survey results and market developments suggest that firms and households'expectations for inflation in the medium to long term have so far been stable. by also taking into account those points, the bank has been closely monitoring price developments. iv. the bank's thinking behind monetary policy conduct after having explained economic and price developments, i will lastly briefly refer to the bank's conduct of monetary policy and the thinking behind it. i have explained the significant changes in the global economy since last year by summarizing the causes into two factors : the liquidity crisis and the balance sheet adjustments. when a great stress is imposed on financial markets, what a central bank should do as a top priority is to provide ample liquidity and ensure the stability of the financial markets and the financial system. to avoid the risk of the economy falling into a deflationary spiral, a central bank should properly and promptly act as " the guardian of liquidity. " meanwhile, it varies from country to country the extent to which the balance sheet adjustments by the private economic entities are needed. in any event, those adjustments are an inevitable process for the global economy to return to a sustainable growth path. the problem is that, if the pace of

12. 89 %, in september. meanwhile, deposit growth was channelled mostly into investments in securities and less into lending. certainly, the appreciation of the exchange rate and the lost loans write off provided a statistical effect on the indicators of credit performance. also, credit in the national currency continued to prevail over the foreign currency credit. nonetheless, the overall level of credit to the economy is still far from its potential and the opportunities for expanding lending abound. i understand that this phenomenon entails a number of problems arising from sluggish demand as well as from supply, which is conditioned by tight credit standards. nonetheless, beyond 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches structural factors, i reckon that we should react so as to prevent a stagnant credit situation in the economy. for an economy that needs to develop rapidly, in order to converge with european union levels, the situation should be changed and the levels of crediting should be higher, though still showing continual prudence concerning credit health. moreover, it is in your financial interest to address this phenomenon with determination, in order to put it on track for a sustainable solution. the financial resources you have and the considerable space that exists for financing the economy show that financial efficiency in the banking activity could improve significantly. the financial infrastructure of the banking sector was enhanced further in 2018. the bank of albania and the national payment system committee have implemented the national strategy for enhancing the small value payment market and increasing the financial inclusion of the population. the first results are promising and they will be followed by other steps by the bank of albania and the banking sector, aimed at achieving a quantitative objective, that is, to see the number of bank account holders doubled by 2022. the financial inclusion of the population is one of the most important current priorities. in 2018, the bank of albania and the banking sector paid particular attention to financial inclusion and financial education. it is a proven fact now that improvement in financial inclusion contributes to the improvement of the welfare of the population in a harmonised way. in this regard, we have designed and implemented, among others, a series of educational projects that are adapted to various segments of the population. financial education, tailored publications with information on bank products and services, as well as developments in the payment infrastructure and payment services are concrete steps for providing more opportunities for access to finance by all segments of the population. * * * dear representatives of the banking sector, the outlook for albania ’ s development remains positive. this means