PRESS RELEASE
Decisions of the Supervisory Council, 3 February 2016

In the meeting held on 3 February 2016, the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania, in addition to the decision to keep the interest rate at 1.75%, reviewed and decided to:

1. Approve the new Regulation "On the organization and functioning of the Financial Stability Advisory Committee"

Established in 2007, the Financial Stability Advisory Committee is an internal unit of the Bank of Albania, which aims to help the decision-making of the steering bodies regarding the financial system stability. The new regulation specifies the tasks, role, organization and functioning of this Committee.

2. Approve amendments to the Regulation "On the licensing, regulation and oversight of the national card payment schemes' operators'

The amendments consist in the redefinition of the decision-making competences, based on the importance and the risks of the licensed entity.

3. Approve amendments to the Regulation "On the destruction of Albanian banknotes, coins and privatisation vouchers''

These amendments aim at improving the rules and procedures that apply to the destruction of banknotes and coins, mainly in terms of delivery and the handover/receipt procedures, supervision of the process and increasing its effectiveness.

4. Approve an amendment to the decision "On the approval of remuneration rate for the banks' required reserve and holdings of excess reserves "

In accordance with this amendment, banks' excess reserves in euro held at the Bank of Albania will be remunerated at 25 basis points below the interest rate of the European Central Bank's deposit rate.

5. Approve an amendment to the Regulation "On licensing and activity of banks and branches of foreign banks in the Republic of Albania"

This amendment aims at adapting and unifying the banking terminology regarding the risk assessment system with the "Supervision Policy" document and the "Risk Assessment System" manual.

In conclusion, The Supervisory Council was also informed on the daily functional and operational activities of the Bank of Albania.