PRESS RELEASE
Former Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank visits the Bank of Albania

On 13 September 2010, at the invitation of the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Ardian Fullani, the former Chairman of the Governing Board of Swiss National Bank, Mr. Jean-Pierre Roth, held a visit in Albania.

In the frame of this visit, Mr. Roth delivered a lecture entitled Switzerland: small country, monetary island. The lecture took place at the Bank of Albania hall.

In his lecture Mr. Roth addressed an outlook of the Swiss economy performance. Notwithstanding, in geographical terms, this country is located almost at the centre of Europe, Switzerland has maintained its currency and the independence of the interest rates. The sustainability and security of macroeconomic environment at home have backed up the blooming of the banking system.

While expressing his sincere gratitude to Mr. Roth for the outstanding lecture, Governor Fullani distinguished the Swiss economy as extraordinary, which in years, has succeeded to build up an admirable stability. Notwithstanding it may look far in time, the Swiss experience is a successful model, which should be followed from the small-sized economies aspiring to be oriented towards exports.

The Swiss National Bank is the central bank of Switzerland established in 1907.

Mr. Jean-Pierre Roth joined the Swiss National Bank's economic staff in 1979. During more than fifteen years he worked in various sectors of the Bank in Berne and Zurich. Effective from 1 January 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the Governing Board and Head of Department I of the Swiss National Bank: (International Affairs Division; Economic Division, Legal and Administrative Division) in Zurich. Also, Mr. Roth is appointed Governor of the International Monetary (IMF) for Switzerland and in 1 March 2010 is elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, Basle. His term is for a period of three years.