ardian fullani : a short overview on the latest albanian banking system achievements speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the ebrd 2005 annual meeting and business forum, belgrade, 22 may 2005. * * * ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to participate in this prestigious event of the ebrd annual meeting and business forum. for this purpose, i would like to thank the organisers of this meeting who provided us such an opportunity to present our achievements and ambitions for the future. allow me first to tackle an important issue, which within the context of this meeting, i believe, is of paramount importance. i mean by that the regional co - operation, an initiative that has been completely supported by the european central bank. we have already taken the first steps in this regard through establishing bilateral relationships in banking supervision with national bank of macedonia, central bank of montenegro and banking and payment authority of kosovo. meanwhile, we are in the process of negotiating with national bank of bosnia and herzegovina, national bank of serbia etc... i estimate that regional co - operation is an important forerunner of the integration process of the region with the rest of europe ; therefore i will not stop working to encourage a regional co - operation of high standards among the financial systems of balkan countries. i hope that you share the same opinion with me, because only in this way, our region will be more credible and efficient to have its european dream. on the other hand, a developed and financially integrated region will be more attractive for foreign strategic investors, opening up the path toward regional development projects, particularly infrastructure ones where region ’ s banks might be directed in financing and investment. further on i would like to give to you a short overview on the latest albanian banking system achievements. after many years of difficult transition, in this late spring of 2005 the banking system is growing on a stable basis. dear participants, i would like to ensure you that recently there are many qualitative developments of the albanian banking system. i use the opportunity of this event to express that positive assessments on the banking system have been given also in the report prepared by the world bank and international monetary fund after the completion of their assessment made on the albanian financial system ( fsap - financial system assessment program ). of course, this is good news. conclusions of fsap, of this important international passport, are an indication of our earliest conclusions that the albanian financial system is characterized by a supervised and

as a key instrument for boosting the efficiency of the albanian economy, through continuously investing for the development of : financial markets ; the payment systems ; as well as innovation and digitalization of financial services. third, boosting financial education and inclusion, as a prerequisite for expanding access to financial services and payment services and for a prudential approach towards the personal finances management. fourth, enhancing attention to green finance and strengthening public awareness regarding climate change, as a necessity for the sustainable growth of the country. last, i would like to emphasise that our policies must be coordinated with prudent fiscal policies and supported by structural reforms. in particular, the creation of a more 2 / 9 bis - central bankers'speeches stimulating environment for promoting domestic and foreign investments, coupled with the investments in human capital and infrastructure should be encompassed in the priorities of structural reforms. also, these reforms should aim at expanding the sectoral base of economic growth and bolstering its sustainability. honourable committee members, allow me to focus more specifically on the main directions of our work over the past year, highlighting the measures taken and the results achieved. * * * 1. economy, inflation and monetary policy of the bank of albania the 2023 was characterized by a solid growth in economic activity, employment and wages, as well as by the improvement in the main indicators of albania's economic and financial stability. according to instat data, the volume of economic activity in albania grew by 3. 4 % over the past year, by gradually improving the growth pace over the course of the quarters. in parallel, employment rose by 2. 2 %, while the unemployment rate dropped to a new historic low of 10. 7 % at the end of the year. from the demand perspective, the expansion in family consumption, private investments, and in the export of tourism services underpinned the economic growth. on the other hand, the fiscal policy maintained a consolidating stance while the export of goods has been declining. the expansion in the demand for goods and services reflected the sound financial balance sheets of private sector, the gradual improvement in businesses and household's confidence, the stable financial environment, the increasing bank credit, inflation coming down, and the rapid growth in the income from tourism. in the sectoral perspective, economic growth was reflected in the expansion of the activity in the sectors of services and construction, while the volume of activity in industry and agriculture trended downwards. the heightened demand for goods and services drove to