And as you know, the profit and loss account is the first line of defence when it comes to averting banking crises. Another criterion that has proven most useful relates to the substantial amount (up to € billion) authorised by Parliament to meet the recapitalisation needs that may arise during the crisis, but to contain in turn the budgetary impact of the restructuring process. The more than € billion that are to be lent to Spanish banks are no doubt a considerable sum. But it is actually a very small amount when compared with the outlay in other countries, which reacted by pumping towering amounts of public funds into private banks, leading to most serious increases in public debt that in some cases have ultimately caused problems for the country concerned. Where necessary, there are more than sufficient backstops to meet recapitalisation needs, but it is absurd to inject public funds unnecessarily. Let’s now turn to the role of financial markets in the second phase of the financial crisis, the so-called “sovereign debt crisis”, which erupted very recently, in spring this year. The behaviour of the sovereign bonds markets could be analysed from the standpoint of market failures or in how they are regulated. While this is an interesting perspective, proposals for reform on any major scale have not yet been set in train, unlike with banking regulation. The crisis has disclosed numerous shortcomings in the functioning of markets, and one frequent criticism is that these same markets influence the public policy agenda.
Few times ago, I have been informed about a new EU initiative, which requires to set up, within a certain period of time, among others a unified payment system within the euro area, including payments with cards. Presently, small and medium businesses in the euro area have not the same payment opportunities as they have in their respective countries on a national scale. Such a case includes credit cards, which cannot be employed equally across the borders. For this purpose I would suggest that respective experts from the Association and Bank of Albania be as soon as possible informed about this project, making the relevant suggestions in this direction. I personally remain consistent in my position that in Albania we have to adopt the most advanced solutions in all the infrastructure projects that we are going to implement. I believe that we do not need to examine old-fashioned models, which, in addition to the initial cost, will continuously require other funds for maintenance and modification. Besides the developments in the field of payments I would welcome from you a broader commitment even in other directions. I think that the system must further expand its geographical coverage, aiming at including also areas, which, though having at first sight the appearance of being inactive, have large financial potentials in the form of threasurised savings outside the system. Also, the service level should be further improved.