payment system throughout kosovo, including the affected areas that have been isolated for a certain time period. 2. the economy of the country has been constantly and sufficiently supplied with cash and i want to reassure citizens that all banks have sufficient liquidity and there will be no problems in relation to the supply of cash. on this occasion, allow me to inform you that the cbk commenced the regular disinfection of all cash supplied in the market, as a protective measure for users of cash. however, given that cash have a multiple circulation from the moment they leave the bank, we urge citizens to strictly adhere to the hygiene instructions issued by healthcare institutions after each cash or card transactions. we urge our citizens to avoid cash as much as possible and to use bank cards and other electronic payment methods as much as possible. 3. liquidity levels in the banking sector as of 31 march 2020 remain at a satisfactory level of 35. 3 %, marking a slight increase of 0. 3 % compared to 16 march 2020. deposits are also very stable, reaching eur 3. 88 billion as of 31 march 2020, marking an increase of eur 9. 3 million compared to 16 march 2020. 4. recognizing the difficulties that some businesses and employees are facing, cbk, together with the lending institutions, has decided to allow a grace period for loan instalment payments starting from 16 march 2020 until 30 april 2020, and depending on the developments of the situation this period may be extended. this is aimed at alleviating the financial burden on all borrowers who are facing difficulties in generating income as a result of the pandemic crisis. 5. the temporary suspension of loan instalment payments will be reviewed on a case - by - case basis by the banks so that these benefits only go to those affected by the current crisis. 6. in the event of such a request being approved by the bank, the penalty interest related to the loans shall not apply during this period. during this period, no deterioration measure of the credit rating will be applied to the borrower. 7. cbk, through its credit registry measures, has undertaken all appropriate legal measures to prevent credit ratings, to not require additional provisions and to not classify them as non - performing loans in the credit registry. 8. banks should, in no case, raise fees for the delivery of services. * * * we believe that measures taken by domestic institutions will be able to mitigate the effects of the pandemic crisis on the

economy, but they may not be sufficient to completely eliminate them. although the effects of the crisis nowadays are difficult to predict because there is still uncertainty about many aspects of the pandemic, including its duration and its spread, where macroeconomic forecasts are currently being adapted in all countries, with new results suggesting in most cases that the economy will decline. we share a similar view as well, expecting that in 2020 kosovo's economy will not continue with its economic expansion that was characterized by an average annual growth of 3. 6 percent in the last ten years. assuming that the economic shocks in the economy of kosovo will be felt more in the first and second quarter and partly in the third quarter of the year, our preliminary forecasts suggest a real economic decline in the range of - 2 % to - 4 % during 2020. however, it's too early for these forecasts so they should be taken with great caution. we will be very attentive to the developments in our and the global economy and will also revise our macroeconomic forecasts on these developments. * * * cbk has carefully considered the opportunities that they and the kosovo government have in order to help the kosovo economy recover after the pandemic. the following are some of these opportunities aimed at facilitating lending to kosovo's economy and that will be applied as needed : • reduction of minimum reserve - may impact the increase of the credit supply. reduction of minimum reserve will enable the application of negative rates to the amount above this surplus, encouraging banks to invest surplus funds in other options, one of which will be lending to the economy. • kosovo credit guarantee fund - increasing this fund would facilitate access to finance and reduce the interest rate. however, the target of this fund in this situation should be businesses that have been financially damaged by the situation. so in this situation, priority should be given to businesses that have been economically disadvantaged by the covid 19 pandemic. • reduction of liquidity requirements of banks - this measure will also impact the increase of the supply by banks. liquidity requirements may be temporarily reduced to stimulate credit growth of the economy. • provisional reduction of capital adequacy requirements - given that banks may have expected credit losses, which may adversely affect their capital levels, cbk may consider a temporary reduction in capital adequacy requirements from 12 % to e. g. 10 % or 9 %. this measure would also enable banks to increase lending but also reduce its cost.