PRESS RELEASE
Bank of Albania and the World Bank Group organise the workshop: ''The financial system in Albania

On 2 February 2017, the Bank of Albania and the World Bank Group organised the workshop on 'The financial system in Albania - From 2025 scenarios to action today", under the auspices of the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Albania, Ms Natasha Ahmetaj. Representatives from World Bank Group, Albanian ministries, financial institutions in Albania, academia and Bank of Albania's staff attended this workshop.

The purpose of this forum was to discuss various scenarios regarding the future of the Albanian economy. Set in a long-term horizon, alternative combinations of factors that affect an open economy found responses in the financial and macroeconomic policies proposed by the participants in the workshop. The workshop was designed as a dynamic discussion platform to share ideas related to the challenges, identification and management of risks, testing various strategies, by bringing the future into the present-day thinking.

In her address, the Deputy Governor Ahmetaj highlighted that the Albanian banking system is well capitalised, liquid and financially sound. Yet, the actual soundness should continue to stir up interest to find out new opportunities that the future may bring about, in order to be prepared to attain the best from them. The respective institutions should commit adequate time to analyse various scenarios for the future and take into account these analyses in their decision-making.

Further, Ms Ahmetaj thanked the World Bank Group for the assistance and technical expertise offered in this field, and considered this experience as rather useful for the preparation of long-term strategies, at the same time, to reflect them in the actual decision making processes.

The organisation of such workshops is part of World Bank Group practices, and part of the working plans of the Bank of Albania for the Albanian financial sector having a vision that stretches beyond the decade.