PRESS RELEASE
Decisions taken by the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania, 4 November 2015

In its meeting of 4 November 2015, the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania, in addition to the decision to reduce the policy rate to 1.75%, reviewed and decided on:

• Approval of the  Quarterly Monetary Policy Report

The Monetary Policy Quarterly Report is the main instrument the Bank of Albania uses to communicate its monetary policy to the public. It provides a comprehensive overview of the recent economic, monetary and financial developments and the factors that have affected and are expected to affect consumer price performance in Albania.

The full monetary policy report will be published in the coming days on Bank of Albania's websitewww.bankofalbania.org.

• Approval of the Medium-term Development Strategy of the Bank of Albania 2016-2018

The Strategy is the most important document for the institutional development of the Bank of Albania for the next three-year period. 

Following are some of the strategic objectives of the Bank of Albania:

• Maintaining price stability, in compliance with the inflation target and enhancing public confidence in the price stability and the national currency 

Bank of Albania will aim to control inflation around 3%. For this purpose, inflation targeting and free floating exchange rate regimes will be implemented.

• Strengthening financial stability

In compliance with the responsibilities and the role of the Bank of Albania regarding financial stability system, a complete macroprudential framework will be realised, by identifying the respective intermediate objectives of the Bank of Albania and the instruments to implement the macroprudential policy.  

• Strengthening banking supervision

Banking supervision will focus on ensuring a sound financial system, which guarantees the citizens' confidence, provides the possibility for sustainable economic growth and safeguard the financial stability. 

• Strengthening financial market security and effectiveness

Bank of Albania will intensify the efforts to further promote the financial markets' security and effectiveness aiming at maintaining their stability and guaranteeing the safe and quick currency circulation, at a low cost. This will be achieved through the regulation and oversight of payment systems and their components, as well as through a more proactive role in the framework of encouraging the initiatives of market stakeholders.

The strategy will be published in the coming days on Bank of Albania's website: www.bankofalbania.org

• Approval of the Regulation 'On the licensing, regulation and oversight of the payment system and clearing house operators"

This Regulation is compiled pursuant to the Law 133/2013, dated 29.04.2013 "On Payment System" and the Medium-term Strategy of the Bank of Albania 2013-2015.

It aims to add an impetus to the payment system market to promote private initiatives related to the clearing and settlement of payments denominated both in the Albanian and foreign currency.

The establishment of such infrastructures will encourage the use of electronic payment instruments, by enhancing the speed and security of payments and reducing their current costs. Hence, this development is expected to reduce the use of cash in economy.

The Regulation has considered the best experiences in the filed of licensing and oversight of payment system and the relevant international standards.