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Financial & Banking
Georgescu (BNR): Currently there are no risks of severe nature to financial stability in Romania
Monday, December 23, 2019
At the present moment there are no severe risks to financial stability in Romania, but the general risk level is rising, similarly to developments around the world, said the first deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), Florin Georgescu, at the press conference launching the Financial Stability Report."The main conclusion that can be taken from this second edition of 2019 of the Report is that, at the moment, there are no risks of a severe nature to ...
Reuters Exclusive: Romania's pension system needs complete overhaul - Finance Minister
Monday, December 23, 2019
Romania’s state pension system needs a complete overhaul focused on contributions and private funds to become sustainable, Finance Minister Florin Citu said in an interview with Reuters on last Tuesday. The European Union state overhauled its communist-era pension system in 2008, making it mandatory for all working Romanians under 35 to contribute to private pension schemes as well as their state pension. The liberal ...
IFC invests in Raiffeisen Bank Romania to expand access to finance for SMEs and green homes
Monday, December 23, 2019
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a financing package of RON 720 million (USD $168 million equivalent) to Raiffeisen Bank Romania to boost financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), climate, and housing—three underserved segments in Romania’s economy. The financing package consists of a RON 240 million investment in a Basel III-compliant Tier 2 bond—which will support the Bank’s capital base–and a ...
Insurance market grows 9% in Jan-Sep
Monday, December 23, 2019
The gross written premiums (GWP) of Romanian insurers increased 9% on the year to 8.13 billion lei ($1.9 billion/1.7 million euro) in the first nine months of 2019, the country's financial regulator ASF said. The local insurance market remained focused on general insurance, which accounted for 80% of the GWPs, ASF said in a press release on Wednesday. “The insurance market is starting to mature. We are seeing a ...
IMF invited to help improve tax collection
Monday, December 23, 2019
A team of experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will come to Romania in January to evaluate the way Romanian authorities collect fiscal revenues. The IMF team will also screen the Tax Code and will draft proposals for improving the system, finance minister Florin Citu told Digi 24 news ...
BCR launches the first ever non-preferred bond issuance in Romania and CEE Region with a value of RON 600 M
Monday, December 23, 2019
Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) successfully launches the first senior non-preferred bonds in Romania and CEE region on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The RON 600 million bond issuance has a 7-year maturity and represents the largest RON bond issuance on the local capital market. The bond issuance has been assigned by Fitch a final rating of BBB+ . The book building process has shown a strong interest from investors, as the ...
BVB to introduce a new market maker program to improve the liquidity
Monday, December 23, 2019
Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) will introduce as of the beginning of 2020 a pilot program for intermediaries that act or intend to act as Market Maker for shares, in order to enhance the liquidity of those shares. By participating in the program, they benefit of lower fees, discounts and, additionally, bonuses, if certain specific criteria are met. Thus, BVB has redefined the Market Maker Program ...
MFP prepares to use derivative instruments in public debt management
Monday, December 23, 2019
Ministry of Finance (MFP) plans to continue issuing state securities for the population under the Tezaur program and to relaunch the program Fidelis that will ensure the distribution of state securities to individuals through banks as well as listing them on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, according to the fiscal-budgetary strategy for ...
S&P: Outlook On Romania Revised To Negative On Rising Fiscal And External Deficits; 'BBB-/A-3' Ratings Affirmed
Monday, December 16, 2019
Overview Large spending deviations by the previous government have forced Romania's current leadership to revise up its fiscal targets for 2019 and 2020, against the backdrop of a slowing economy. Planned wage and pension increases will contribute to a widening of Romania's already substantial current account deficit through 2020. While we ...
Reuters: Romanian government aims to get 2020 budget approved by Dec. 31
Monday, December 16, 2019
Romania’s Liberal minority government aims to have its 2020 budget approved by the end of this year and could fast-track it through parliament if debates drag on, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Friday. Fast-tracking bills, however, leaves the government vulnerable to a potential censure motion in parliament, where it has limited support. Regular budget debates could take weeks as opposition lawmakers are expected to table a slew of ...
FinMin Citu: With dominant mandatory pension system, we certainly won't be able to pay pensions in 20 years
Monday, December 16, 2019
Certainly in 20 years, pensions will not be able to be paid in Romania in case pensions administered by the state through Pillar 1, the mandatory pensions, remain dominant in the system, said, on Friday, Minister of Public Finances, Florin Citu."The pension system must be reformed, it's clear, but we must also take into account two things: there's a large generation that is retiring, and the resources to come aren't as large, because the youths that come decide ...
Value of total assets administered in private pension system reaches almost 13bn euros
Monday, December 16, 2019
The value of total assets under administration, at the level of the entire private pension system, reached 61.53 billion lei (12.95 billion euros), on September 30, 2019, increasing by 24.04pct compared to December 2018, according to a release of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) regarding the evolution of the private pensions market in the first nine months of 2019.At the end of September 2019, the share of private pensions in Gross Domestic Product was ...
Fiscal Council warns against “fiscal relaxation attempts”
Monday, December 16, 2019
In its opinion on the 2020-2022 Fiscal-Budgetary Strategy drafted by the new Government, Romania’s Fiscal Council emphasizes the “mismatch between the desire for fiscal consolidation and the persistence of fiscal relaxation attempts.” In this context, the Council recommends that the Strategy should contain a separate chapter assessing the risks that may affect the forecast indicators, as well as the corrective measures to be employed ...
Budget deficit to rise to 4.4 percent this year
Monday, December 16, 2019
After analysing the state of public finances and the measures required to bring the budget within reasonable limits, the new PNL government announced that Romania would reach a budget deficit of 4.4 percent of GDP in 2019. It is far worse than the projected 3 percent deficit, and an effect of the measures taken over the past three years. The budget problem is a result of the spending structure, said Ionut Dumitru, chief economist at Raiffeisen Bank ...
City Insurance: Volume of gross written premiums rose by 38 pct in first nine months
Monday, December 16, 2019
The Insurance-Reinsurance Company City Insurance concluded the first nine months of 2019 with a volume of gross written premiums of 298 million euro (the equivalent of 1.413 billion lei), an increase of 38 pct over the same period of last year, according to a release of the company.The number of damage cases paid until the end of the month of September 2019 rose to 109,065, compared to 84,424 in January - September 2018.In the first nine months of ...
Bank of China announces official opening today of Romanian branch
Monday, December 9, 2019
Bank of China, the fourth biggest bank in the world, will launch its branch in Romania on Monday, December 16, when Romania and China celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations. The ceremony will be attended by China’s ambassador in Romania, Jiang Yu, Bank of China’s Chairman of the Board, Liu Liange, the General Manager of Bank of China's operations in Central and Eastern Europe, Xu Haifeng, and the General Manager of the Bucharest branch, ...
Reuters poll: analysts expect 1.5% nominal depreciation of Romania's currency in 2020
Monday, December 9, 2019
Central Europe’s main currencies will struggle to appreciate in the next year, with the Hungarian forint seen sticking near record lows and only the Czech crown expected to see small gains, ...
Minister Citu assures public finance, exchange rate are under control
Monday, December 9, 2019
Finance minister Florin Citu assured that Romania has an “optimum size buffer” to face any funding or exchange-rate pressure and announced yet unspecified measures to bring the budget deficit down to around 3% of GDP, according ...
BNR says interventions to defend currency were lower than reported
Monday, December 9, 2019
Romania’s National Bank (BNR), which operates a managed-float policy for the local currency (RON), spent under EUR 1 billion from its forex reserves to prop up the leu in November, a central bank official who asked not to be named ...
Expenses for household consumption up 5.3 pct, increasing GDP by 3.3 pct at 9 months
Monday, December 9, 2019
Expenses for the final consumption of the population's households increased by 5.3 pct in first nine months of this year, contributing to a 3.3 pct growth of the GDP, while the gross formation of fixed capital (investments) recorded an increase in volume of 18.1 pct and a contribution of 3.8 pct, according to data published on Wednesday by the National Institute for Statistics.In the third quarter, the consumption of households contributed 2.6 pct to the increase ...