Apart from contending with the after-effects of the depreciation of the rand last year, the major concern for the Reserve Bank recently has been the continuous increase at a high rate in the total amount of bank credit extended to the private sector.
This will involve noticeably reducing Malta’s high debt ratio, maintaining moderate wage developments that take fully into account labour productivity growth, and fostering labour participation. As you know, economic and monetary integration between countries with somewhat different characteristics and levels of development requires careful preparation. However, you have already reached this stage and your planning for the introduction of the euro is almost complete.