PRESS RELEASE
Meeting of the Governor of the Bank of Albania, Ardian Fullani, with journalists, analysts and media directors

On 18 December 2012, Mr. Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, met with renowned publicists, epxerts of politics and economics, and journalists of print and electornic media on an event marking the end of 2012.
This meeting has become a tradition already for the Bank of Albania.

In his address, Governor Fullani extended his best wishes for a successful and prosperous year for the participants and their families. He commended the work of the media for informing the public in real time on Bank of Albania's decisions and welcomed the analysis and remarks in this regard. The Governor presented a brief overview of the Albanian economy, considering 2012 as a year full of economic events. He highlighted the measures taken by the Bank of Albania to guarantee the country's macroeconomic stability and maintain the financial and banking system stability.
Year 2012 was a special year for all Albanians: Albania marked 100 years of the Declaration of Independence. In addition to minting a set of commemorative coins to mark this significant centennial for Albania, the Bank of Albania organised a number of activities such as a touring exhibition on: "100 years of independence: our history reflected in the national currency" in the following cities: Berat, Gjirokastra, Elbasan, Korça, Shkodra, Tirana, Vlora and Prishtina.

In the meeting, Governor Fullani presented Bank of Albania's Calendar 2013, highlighting central bank developments in Albania from 1913, which marks the establishment of the National Bank of Albania until the present-day Bank of Albania, which is vested with attributes of a modern, independent, transparent and responsible central bank. The calendar shows stylised designs from Albanian banknotes issued over the years as well as two drawings of two Bank buildings (the early days one in Durrës and the renovation project design) so as to show the journey of the central bank throughout its history.

During this year, the Bank of Albania continued to implement its financial education strategy. The Governor said that in the upcoming years, the Bank of Albania will continue to work to educate the younger generation on financial issues. As part of this strategy, Governor Fullani announced the winner of the "Governor's award for the best diploma thesis 2012". After reviewing all the applications submitted by students graduated in Albania or abroad, the awarding commission at the Bank of Albania decided to award the following prizes:

1. First prize Mr. Alqi Bllako, a student at the New York University in Tirana for his master's dissertation 'The role of taxation on coroporate income on the capital structure: figures on the Albanian economy'.
2. Second prize Ms. Dirina Mançellari, a student at the American University in Bulgaria for her diploma thesis 'A framework to assess the stability of public finance in Albania'.
3. Third prize Mr. Jurgen Kopliku, a student at the Bocconi University in Italy for his master's dissertation 'Was the structure of European companies affected by the financial crisis 2007-2008?'.