Gent Sejko: Bank - business relationships: common economic challenges in face of global Covid-19 pandemic Address by Mr Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, to the Discussion Forum on ''Bank business relationships: common economic challenges in face of global Covid-19 pandemic”, Tirana, 13 May 2020. * * *  Dear representatives of business community in Albania, Dear banking system executives, First, I would like to thank you for your participation in this round table, held to discuss on the way and optimum instruments to face the common challenges ahead. This meeting is being organised under extraordinary circumstances. The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and the prudential measures adopted to confine it, drove to a rapid drop of the demand for goods and services, in the domestic and foreign markets, and to a considerable contraction of output. The challenges we are facing are serious, in terms of both size and complexity. The Albanian economy is expected to undergo a strong drop of the economic activity during 2020, in those levels never being experienced during the last two decades. It will be accompanied by an increase of unemployment, fall of revenue, and financial difficulties to firms and households. In the microeconomic view, the fall of revenue, reduction of liquidity and worsening of solvency will test the financial stability of firms. In the macroeconomic view, the increase of private and public debt will test the stability of economic equilibriums of Albania.
I repeat, this agreement was and remains the best possible one for France and for Europe. I recall that the removal of internal models was a key element in the negotiations. We fought hard to gain the lasting recognition of these models while committing ourselves to further improving their comparability. The application of Basel III will not require a dedicated capital increase for any French bank. The implementation of this agreement will not have a negative impact on the financing of our economy. This concern traditionally voiced by the banking industry has always proved unfounded: on the contrary, credit growth in France remains very robust at 7% per year. But we are fully aware, as is Bercy, of the negotiations that remain to be conducted. And France will fight for a transposition that is both fair and reasonable. Fair because there would be no question of transposing it in Europe if the United States did not apply the agreement. 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  Reasonable in terms of managing capital requirements under Basel III. Firstly, I believe it is necessary to apply the output floor at the consolidated level of the banking groups. The Basel requirements will also have to be intelligently integrated with the capital buffers that are already applied in Europe under Pillar 2 2020 will also be the year of the Solvency II review. We had expressed our reservations about the document circulated for consultation by EIOPA.