, on average, in 2018. second, the accommodative monetary policy has reduced the existing debt service costs, by alleviating the balance sheets of borrowing households and enterprises, and further bolstering the expansion of aggregate demand. third, the accommodative monetary policy has supported albania ’ s financial stability, by improving the solvency of the private sector, and encouraging loan restructuring. thus, monetary policy - related measures undertaken by the bank of albania have contributed to boosting economic growth. our assessments suggest that the accommodative monetary policy stance has contributed positively, on average by 0. 5 percentage point, to economic growth in the last two years. also, the accommodative monetary policy stance has contributed to the stability of the domestic currency. both transmission channels have contributed and will continue to contribute to price stability in albania. 2. banking supervision and financial stability the activity of the banking sector in 2018 was stable showing good performance and resilience indicators. the financial result was positive : the return on assets ( roa ) stood at 1. 3 % and the return on equity ( roe ) reached 13 %. in addition, capitalisation and liquidity levels were above 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the respective regulatory requirements. the bank of albania judges that the capability of the banking sector to withstand risks is high. credit risk continues to represent the main risk to the activity of the banking sector, but the credit quality has improved from the previous year. at the end of 2018, the non - performing loans ratio stood at 11. 1 % from 13. 2 % a year earlier, whereas the outstanding non - performing loans decreased by 20 %. in 2018, the ownership structure of the banking system underwent some changes, bringing the number of banks down to 14, as at the end of the year. taking into account the changes in ownership taking place in 2019, the actual number of banks is 12. the bank of albania deems that the consolidation of the banking system is a welcomed development, which will revitalize the banking activity, will enhance the efficiency of the banking industry and will bolster development and innovative policies with regard to credit and payments. the main aspects of our work for safeguarding financial stability consisted in strengthening the stability of the banking system, enhancing its resilience to shocks, and adopting international standards in the fields of supervision and regulation. thus, in concrete terms : the bank of albania has worked toward fulfilling all its obligations

the meaning of growth, security, statistics and money. the colours of the new logo are colours contained in the flag of kosovo, the flag of the european union and the logo of the european central bank. * * * in the end, i would like to thank you once again for participating in marking this very important anniversary for us and wish you fruitful discussions with the highly respected panellists, that we will have during today's conference, which will address topics that are very important for the economy and the financial sector. now, i have the pleasure to invite his excellency the president of kosovo, mr. hashim thaqi, for an occasional speech. faqe 7 nga 7