Today’s key interest rate cut aims at providing a further boost to consumption and private investments, creating premises for lower financing costs in the banking sector. Data on public sector performance refer to the first four months of the current year. Revenues increased 9.1%, in annual terms, while spending shrank 5.9%. This performance materialised in the budget deficit of about 73.1% lower than a year earlier. A similar dynamics, though less intensive, is expected to persist in the months ahead. Consistently,  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  the Bank of Albania has been in favour and has endorsed the consolidation path of fiscal policy, deeming that such policy contributes to the reduction of risks in the economy. Developments in the external sector led to an annual expansion of the trade deficit by 8.7%, during the first quarter of 2014. Albanian exports grew 11.6%; yet, the trade deficit expansion was determined by a 10.1% annual increase in imports. A more detailed analysis of trade developments shows that trade deficit expansion was attributed almost entirely to the increase in electrical energy imports. Albanian exports’ growth, however, was driven by the gradual improvement of foreign demand and depreciation of the real exchange rate over the past years. A steady improvement in this area should be anchored in structural reforms supporting the increase in productivity, development of Albania’s comparative advantages and reduction of vulnerabilities in certain sectors of the economy.
Who better to deliver this year’s MAS Lecture than the chief architect and prime mover behind that far-sighted policy: Dr Zhou Xiaochuan Dr Zhou needs little introduction. We secured his agreement to deliver the MAS Lecture just three weeks ago. The letters of invitation went out two weeks. The fact that more than 500 of you are gathered here at short notice is testament to Dr Zhou’s reputation as a visionary leader who shaped China’s financial reform agenda. Still, it would be remiss of me if I did not briefly highlight the key milestones in Dr Zhou’s distinguished career in public service spanning more than 30 years. He held leadership roles in the Bank of China and the China Construction Bank. He served as Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). And of course – what he is most well known for – he served as Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) from 2002 to 2018, the longest-serving Governor of 1/2  BIS central bankers' speeches  the PBoC. Dr Zhou became one of the most respected central bankers on the international circuit. In February this year, Dr Zhou was awarded the Lifetime Central Banking Award by London-based publication Central Banking, a most fitting recognition of his contributions to the Chinese economy and financial sector. From a bilateral perspective, during Dr Zhou’s tenure, the PBoC and MAS forged close ties and deepened financial and regulatory cooperation.