Particularly concerning is the low degree of export to import coverage, signalling structural problems of this deficit due to still-low competitiveness in our economy. In this direction, a special attention should be paid to checking costs and productivity growth in the economy, by raising investments in education, and by attracting most advanced technologies in production. Also, in the medium run, the macroeconomic policies should be  2  BIS Review 94/2009  prudent in terms of public and private savings level, in order to control the need for using foreign financing resources. The fiscal policy during the first half of 2009 had an expansionary stance, being featured by a rapid growth of expenditures and budget deficit. Budget revenues have recorded a more moderate growth, partially reflecting even the economic slowdown effects. Though remaining within the projected level for 2009, the budget deficit by about ALL 30 billion constitutes a much higher amount than in the same period of the previous year. Under these conditions, the Bank of Albania would appreciate the taking of measures for keeping budget deficit levels and public borrowing in check, helping the maintaining of the internal and external balances in the economy. Preserving the projected budget parameters will impact positively on macroeconomic stability, by controlling the fiscal stimulus on aggregate demand and dampening the pressures on monetary markets. The demand for monetary assets increased during the last months.
Grant Thornton Europe Regional Meeting  What monetary policy cannot do Address by Dr Mario Vella, Governor of the Central Bank of Malta 24 May 2017  Almost ten years have passed since the outbreak of the global financial crisis, triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the autumn of 2008. During this period, central banks have become, according to The Economist, “the most powerful financial actors on the planet”. Central banks have often been portrayed as the only institutional players with the knowledge and capability to prevent a global financial crisis from turning into a second Great Depression, on par with the one seen in the 1930s. And yet, despite this aura of power, central banks are both fallible and constrained. In this address, I would like to touch upon what monetary policy can do and, equally importantly, what monetary policy cannot do. As you know, Malta has formed part of the euro area since January 2008. Therefore, the Central Bank of Malta no longer formulates and executes a monetary policy of its own. Rather, as one of 19 members of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta takes part in the formulation of monetary policy for the euro area as a whole. At the same time, the Bank is responsible for implementing the Council’s monetary policy decisions in Malta. Monetary policy in the euro area aims at price stability. According to the Treaty this is the primary objective of the European Central Bank.