In conclusion, let me stress 4 points: It is hard to anticipate the role that stablecoins and more generally crypto-assets might play in the payment system of the future, especially since the features of these assets look set to change considerably. While it is clear that they offer opportunities to improve our payment systems, they can also bring quite material risks which must be addressed. In that context, it is first and foremost the responsibility of private sector entities to design arrangements which do not bring undue risks to our payment systems. Regulatory and oversight authorities also have an important role to play in order to ensure that risk management requirements to be met are clear, comprehensive, coherent acrossborders and complied with, while preserving the potential for technological innovation offered by stablecoins. Beyond contributing to the adjustment of the regulatory and oversight frameworks to address these risks, central banks may make further contributions, notably by revisiting and possibly adjusting the conditions under which they make central bank money available for settlement purposes. To that end, we should keep an open-minded approach and develop an in-depth understanding of innovations currently spreading across the financial sector, including through experimentations. This is critical for our capacity to help deliver a sound, proper and updated regulatory framework supporting innovation, and adequately mitigate their inherent risks. This is also critical for our capacity to adapt the performance of the different roles we play to fulfil our financial stability mandate and conduct efficient monetary policies. Thank you for your attention.
Also, I invite you to maintain your positive approach to expand financing to the Albanian economy in addition to qualitatively increasing the banking products in a quantitative manner. *** Dear ladies and gentlemen, Year 2022 as well triggered some unexpected shocks for the banking sector (the war in Ukraine, fluctuations in markets of financial instruments and recently the increase in interest rates). The banking sector, despite the lingering effect of these shocks on the profitability rate, re-affirmed once more the stability and the security this sector provides to depositors and investors. Throughout 2022, the activity of banking sector recorded a prudential increase across all indicators, above 6% growth of total assets and similar expansion rates in main items. The funds of individual depositors, who preferred the foreign currency as the main instrument of their savings, largely underpinned this upturn. The financing manner of credit portfolio and the upsurge in the foreign currency investments in securities reflected the ample supply in foreign currency. The amount of non-performing loans reduced again this year, by around ALL 2 billion, thus strengthening the stability of this multi-year trend, further down to 5%, from 5.68%. In 2022, the portfolio of financial instruments - unlike the previous years - provided a negative contribution to the overall level of banking system profitability. The interest rate hikes and the uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine yielded subsequent shocks to the market values of these portfolios.