PRESS RELEASE
Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Ardian Fullani, meets with the directors of the commercial banks operating in Albania

The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Ardian Fullani, held a meeting with the directors of the commercial banks on December 9, 2004, at the Bank of Albania.

In the beginning, the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Mr. Fullani, presented a detailed exposé on the latest developments of the country's economy, including the financial sector, where emphasis was mainly dedicated to the Bank of Albania expectations for the rest of the year 2004 and behind. He also highlighted that this meeting is a clear evidence of cooperation and responsibility of the Bank of Albania in respect of the banking system.

The Bank of Albania designs and applies in conformity with its laws the monetary policy and performs the supervision of the banking system in the country. In this light, the Bank of Albania will be more prudential to simultaneously harmonize the progress of the banking system with that of the financial sector. One of the Bank of Albania goals is the increasing of public confidence in banks, thus strengthening the role of banking system in the country, consisting in a more efficient transmission of the monetary policy from the Bank of Albania.

The Central Bank is confident that cash reduction in the economy alongside with the formalization of the Albanian economy will be effective through the new banking services, giving an important emphasis to credit cards development. In this context, the domestic credit card in Lek will have a particular significance. This will have as well a direct impact on the formalization of the economy.

The issues raised by the banks:

Agriculture, one of the most significant sectors of the economy, still remained less credited. Banks expressed their readiness to participate in funds management within the framework of the development programs, as specialized institutions in this field, and that would at the same time contribute to the enrichment of their information on such an important sector of the economy.

Banks extended their goodwill to enhance their collaboration with the central bank, mainly in exchanging information and analyses, as well as the consistency with the laws and regulations to further support the financial intermediation in Albania.