Josef Bonnici: Lessons from the crisis Address by Professor Josef Bonnici, Governor of the Central Bank of Malta, at the annual dinner of the Institute of Financial Services, Saint Julian’s, 25 November 2011. *  *  *  Hon. Minister, Excellencies, Members of the Institute, Distinguished Guests I would like to thank the Malta Institute of Financial Services for inviting me to address this distinguished audience. Mr President, I am aware of your Institute's leading role in banking and financial education in Malta and of its endeavours to establish forms of collaboration with other educational institutions with the aim of increasing the variety of courses offered to professional staff within the financial services industry. I understand that a notable development over the last year was the relationships you established with the University of Bangor and other strategic partners in order to launch a Chartered Banker MBA course locally. This is certainly an achievement and I augur you further success in expanding your reach to all members of the financial community through the activities that your Institute organises and the training facilities it provides. This evening I shall dwell on the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, a topic which has persistently made news headlines over the past 18 months, and unfortunately continues to do so today. There are lessons from this period of crisis that are relevant for both policymakers and the banking community.
Ardian Fullani: The current performance and development prospects of the Albanian economy Speech by Mr Ardian Fullani, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the Bank of Albania’s forum with representatives of main businesses operating in Albania, Tirana, 23 November 2009. *  *  *  Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my pleasure to be among you today, to share with you our views on the current performance and development prospects of the Albanian economy. As the most dynamic part of the Albanian economy, your contribution has been tangible in the country’s economic development during transition. Your incentive, your willingness and devotion have brought about tangible results in the country’s development. In a single figure, the Albanian economy performance may be summarized in the growth of above 65 percent of gross domestic product and well-being per citizen during these years of transition. Our development prospect remains as much positive. The country’s macroeconomic stability, the continuation and deepening of structural reforms as well as the geopolitical reality of approximation to developed economies of the European Union, would help in a fuller release and remuneration of your potential and energies. Today’s forum aims to highlight the economic development of the country and initiate a broad public discussion on alternatives of the future economic growth models. Now, let me start by making a brief statement of the latest developments of the Albanian economy, and further dwell upon our viewpoints on the country’s economic development in the future.