A bombardment of high definition images of nature in photographs and film, may have numbed some of us to nature’s wonders. For example, I am not sure how many of us are still captivated or awed anymore by the sight on television of yet another leopard pursuing its lunch. The human hand makes for a much more intimate experience of nature. Back in the days of Maria Merian and General Farquhar, there was no other way of recording the world around us. Now we are seeing a return to paint and other traditional art forms. I am told that painting in general is the art medium that has shown the biggest resurgence recently. Some of the paintings in this exhibition look like photographs, which is a mark of the skill 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  of contemporary artists. Malaysian painters are as good as any in this category, and they have no shortage of nature at their disposal to paint, compared with their counterparts in New York, London or Shanghai. We should all be celebrating the world around us, not just as artists or eco-tourists, but as inhabitants of Planet Earth. These paintings bring us up close and personal with nature, as it should be. The skilled precision of the work featured by the artists does not diminish the connection and passion that the artists have with and for their subjects. Indeed, it enhances our experience viewing these beautifully executed pieces. Please also do take some time to read the statements by the artists.
The banking system currently comprises 16 operating institutions, with total assets of around 53 per cent of the country’s GDP. The system is well capitalized and liquid. Its intermediation role is increasing. The lending activity although small (accounting for around 23 percent of total banking assets and around 12 percent of GDP), is strongly picking up. Other financial institutions are trying hard to increase and modernize their activity. However, many problems primarily legal and property rights related which are outside financial sector are making it difficult for them to increase their credit lines. Microfinance has proved to be a more effective way to deal with these problems. With its inventive formulas it makes financial resources become accessible to small and medium businesses that account for most of aggregate production during these development stages. These resources are often used to finance small projects in areas like agriculture, livestock or services like handicraft, small food stores etc. The first microfinance institutions in Albania, were set up in 1994 as development projects co-financed by the Albanian Government and the World Bank. 13 donors cooperate with the Albanian government in supporting the development of SME-s in Albania. From 1992 a large share of funds has been allocated in Albania as donation, but only a portion has been spent. Most of these funds has been  BIS Review 88/2005  1  given as soft loans for Albanian government. Aid represents around 30 % and only 5 % are direct commercial loans to co-finance the private investment.