These developments, besides their positive contribution in enhancing the financial intermediation speak for a better perception of the investing potential from banks, in Albania. An outstanding development is mainly related to the client service, which is accompanied through electronic terminals by the increasing number of electronic cards in circulation. Banks offer already debit and credit cards in co-operation with international companies such as Visa and MasterCard. Six banks provide the ATM service and the number of ATMs reached 108 by the end of February 2005. The banking system results to have a profit level, which has been increasing to Lek 5.1 billion. Return on equity (ROE) was estimated at 21 percent while problem credits represent only 4.2 percent, from 4.6 percent in the previous year. On the other hand, for the rest of the financial sector the FSAP reports indicates many problems, which simultaneously contain many themes including essential issues such as their supervision. Although, due to their small dimensions, these problems do not present imminent risks for the time being, they still should be carefully examined and resolved. Returning to the assessments made under FSAP in other countries similar to Albania (I mainly refer here to South East European Countries, SEEC) and to many other financial reports referring to this region, we realize that these problems are similar and these countries suffer more or less similar symptoms. If one has a look back at the history, it realizes that it can not happen differently.
The second corner of the triangle is related to the exit from our exceptional measures. The time to exit has not yet arrived. We will continue PEPP net asset purchases “until at least the end of March 2022 and, in any case, until [we] judge that the coronavirus crisis phase is over” v. We still have ample time to judge and decide; nevertheless in our present baseline scenario this crisis phase will be over by March 2022. But the possible end of net purchases under PEPP by that date would not imply an abrupt tightening of our monetary policy. Reinvestments under PEPP would remain significant, net purchases would continue under the APP, possibly somewhat adapted. Hence we could still play the full “quartet” of our  Page 6 sur 9 accommodative monetary policy instruments, adding negative rates, liquidity provision, and forward guidance. The third corner of this triangle could indeed be an enhancement of our forward guidance consistent with the symmetry of our inflation objective. Rather than flexible average inflation targeting, which leaves many questions unanswered, my preferred option would be the use of a strengthened and non-linear forward guidance, mentioning explicitly our tolerance for inflation overshooting, with reference to past inflation shortfalls. It is the combination of these three levers that should be used as the foundations of the “equilibrium triangle” of our monetary policy in this next phase of the Covid crisis. II. Wider expectations are emerging Let us return to the question of broadening public expectations of central banks.