GDP growth in the fourth quarter of last year has been revised upwards, consumer confidence has rebounded somewhat and the main forward looking surveys of activity in the manufacturing and services sector have been looking substantially more positive since the turn of the year. Consistent with this tentative recovery in optimism, the Consensus survey of professional economists' forecasts for near-term growth in the US has been revised upwards for the first time in quite a period. So far, the UK has escaped the worst of the squalls raging across the Atlantic. Though GDP growth slowed over the course of last year, output in 2001 was still 2.4% higher than a year earlier, close to trend growth. Underlying this relatively benign aggregate picture, there are of course some quite marked differences: on the expenditure side, between growth in consumption, which has surged ahead, and growth in investment, which has been strikingly depressed; and, on the output side, between the fortunes of firms in manufacturing, which have borne the brunt of the global slowdown, and those of firms in the more sheltered services sector. These differences are sometimes referred to as 'imbalances', and it is certainly true that we can neither expect (nor wish) for them to persist over the long run. The shake-out in manufacturing has been particularly severe, as you know here only too well. Manufacturing output in Northern Ireland fell by some 4.6% in the year to last autumn, compared with a fall of 3.5% in the UK as a whole.
The banking sector should carry out a reassessment of the stability of the borrowers’ business model, under the post -Covid reality. Clients facing temporary financial difficulties but with stable business models, should be supported with liquidity and temporary operational easing. Clients facing serious difficulties may be supported through the restructuring of credit, always so far and at the level that the long-term perspective of the business remains solid. On its side, the Bank of Albania will encourage a pro-active approach of the banking sector towards this process, without prejudice to the stability of the sector and transparency of its balance sheets. Lastly, the fifth challenge is the safeguarding of the monetary and financial stability of Albania. In this regard, I would like to underscore that: The Albanian business should show transparent and loyal to the banking sector. This sector should provide its help to face the crisis, but it may not counter alone its financial costs. Also, banking sector should find a fair equilibrium between the support to borrowers in need – in a bilateral long-term interest and benefit – and the safeguarding of its balance sheet soundness. As I already mentioned, the monetary and financial stability is not negotiable to the Bank of 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  Albania. In compliance with our legal mandate it has been and will continue to be the milestone of our polices.