And the DWF currently offers a 12-month swap option, as well as the standard 30-day facility. In summary, by providing liquidity insurance the Bank aims effectively to give essentially sound banks and others time to address the problems created by stress, and for the authorities to develop remedial plans, without creating perverse incentives or exposing itself to risk. Given those aims, banks must avail themselves of these facilities. We believe, for example, that all qualifying banks and building societies should sign up for the Discount Window Facility; that they should pre-position with us a range of eligible collateral, so that they avoid operational stumbles when they seek to use the Window; that they should use it regularly in meaningful size as part of testing and making a reality of their contingency plans; and that they should share those plans with the Bank, which, amongst other things, would help us assess applications to draw. In that way, the DWF can truly help to underpin the system’s liquidity in the future. 19  See Tucker PMWT (2008), “The Structure of Regulation: Lessons from the Crisis of 2007”, a speech to the LSE’s Financial Markets Group Conference; and the Committee on the Global Financial System, Paper No. 31 (July 2008), “Central bank operations in response to the financial turmoil”, CGFS Papers, Bank for International Settlements. 20  The SLS was introduced in April 2008 and was open until end-January 2009.
To this end, the Bank of Albania will continue to work diligently for: the prudent regulation and supervision of the banking activity; the financial market and payment system development; the promotion of the financial stability of the country, as well as for bolstering the financial education and inclusion of the public. Although the challenges facing ahead are not few and far in between, I am convinced that the banking industry will continue to remain a trusted partner to Albanian enterprises and households. In conclusion, I would like to stress out that the Bank of Albania supports and encourages the structural reforms. This agenda of reforms has now found a stable anchor in the process of negotiations undertaken in the framework of the European Union membership. The continuous investment on reforms, which boost and encourage the macroeconomic stability of the country, the improvement of the business climate, the increase of efficiency and competitiveness, the improvement of human and institutional capacities, as well as the comprehensive development of infrastructure, is the one and only path toward a faster economic and social progress. 2/2  BIS - Central bankers' speeches