weekly economic - related columns in the press, the educational classes, the public lectures, the professional assistance to the public and other similar. these are normal activities of the academia and the educational institutions in a developed world, since their primary purpose is to create public goods for the society. social return or the social impact have now become an ever - increasingly important objective for profit - seeking financial institutions, while in our economy education is only limited to the strict and traditional classroom teaching. analyses and comments almost always approach the criticism, and very rarely – not to say hardly ever – they approach explaining and interpreting a certain economic phenomenon. against this backdrop, responsible finance goes beyond the financial system ’ s boundaries ; it stretches to all the players that can and it is their responsibility to guarantee it in all possible ways. i invite all the interested players to co - operate in order to guarantee financial responsibility, providing an active contribution according to their role in economy.

ardian fullani : responsible finance in albania speech by mr ardian fullani, governor of the bank of albania, at the international conference “ responsible finance in albania ”, jointly organized by the bank of albania, the kreditanstalt fur wiederaufbau ( kfw ) entwicklungsbank and the european fund for southeast europe ( efse ), tirana, 23 march 2010. * * * it is with great pleasure that i open the proceedings of this important forum entitled “ responsible finance ”. this concept is being ever - increasingly mentioned in the discussion topics and macro finance debates, in particular following the 2008 events. participation in this forum pushed me to find an accurate definition for this concept. “ responsible finance ” can be summarized as practices that are designed to create a fair balance of interests between a finance institution and other stakeholders. in fact, my search made me realize that this concept may perhaps best describe in a single designation the wide - ranging efforts of the bank of albania in the last 3 – 4 years with respect to banking and financial supervision, monetary policy and public education. responsible finance is an encompassing topic that affects and should be applied by all financial market players. it implies a phenomenon that goes beyond prudential supervision since it is a necessity to guarantee both the financial and macroeconomic soundness of an economy. this philosophy cannot be reduced merely to the best business principles and practices but it also summarizes the desire and goal to assist the poor groups of the population and remove poverty by providing more affordable borrowing and prudence that guarantees their economic success. responsible finance focuses on guaranteeing the system ’ s customers ’ rights, however the requirements and practices of responsible finance are first and foremost a guarantee for the soundness of financial institutions and therefore of the entire financial system. responsible finance at the bank of albania has focused on three main directions : banking supervision transparency and accountability education first, responsible finance cannot be understood as a phenomenon and responsibility to be left to the market players ’ own initiative. it should be grasped not merely as a right but also as an obligation of all market players. if you agree to this principle, then you should be an advocate and promoter – indeed, this is the position of the bank of albania as far as this is concerned. from a central bank ’ s point of view, responsible finance begins with sound supervision of the banking and financial system. it constitutes an obligation for the central bank to provide the savers with the right of having