GREXIT / SIGNAL STATEMENT BY ONE OF VICTOR PONTA'S ADVISORS: "I have withdrawn my money from Greek-owned banks and so did my friends"

Even though the NBR assures citizens that their deposits are safe, some politicians' statements could create panic among depositors, which would lead to massive withdrawals from banks. It is well known that a bank can very easily be destabilized, when a large number of depositors come in asking for their money all at once. As banks in Greece are still closed, the mass-media is reporting alarming news about that country's situation, and four of the major Romanian banks are Greek-owned, the messages coming from politicians can significantly affect the decisions of the population.

Gyorgy Frunda, who is an honorary advisor to prime-minister Victor Ponta, announced on RFI, that both him and his friends have withdrawn their money from the Romanian banks owned by Greek shareholders, as a result of the events in Greece, but he stressed that he has no idea how the situation in the Greek banking system will affect our own.

He said: "I don't know to what extent the Greek banks will be affected or not, but all of my friends, including myself, who had deposits with Greek banks have moved them".

The question which arises is how will people be influenced by a statement of that nature made by one of the people that advise the prime-minister?

In the opinion of consultant Doru Lionăchescu, the president of Capital Partners, the statement by Mr. Gyorgy Frunda should be irrelevant: "The position of honorary advisor does not grant him a position through which to influence the country's public policies and as a result, it is irrelevant".

According to Sergiu Oprescu, the president of Alpha Bank, one of the banks that are controlled by Greek shareholders, the number of withdrawals from the bank has been higher than normal lately, amid what is happening in Greece. He said: "There is a higher than average activity, but we are within normal parameters both in terms of deposit withdrawals, as well as liquidity etc. We have gone through that kind of events a few times. (...) This time it has been extremely important to communicate with the public".

Panic is never a good thing, says Steven van Groningen, the president of the Bank Employers' Council of Romania (CPBR), who thinks that "one bank may not withstand a panic, but a banking system definitely does". If no bank needed help during the crisis, then we will definitely go through this period without any kind of problems, he said, and he expressed his conviction that the NBR would intervene any banks that might encounter difficulties.

Lately, the officials of the NBR have sent several reassuring messages to the public, telling them that Romanian banks owned by Greek shareholders are solid and have high liquidity and went on to say that the Central Bank is ready to give banks money at any time, as a last-resort borrower.

"If the waters are still in Athens - because over there people think that things will fix themselves and that is a dangerous line of thinking, -, why would there be panic here? I don't think that in Greece people realize that in the current circumstances, - closed banks, default, unpaid loans - the country is living on inventory. Greeks are fooling themselves that the current situation will be the same a few days or weeks from now, but it won't be like that, things will get worse", Doru Lionăchescu says.

In his opinion, "the way things are going now, without saying it outright, creditors will try to preserve the current situation as long as possible". The more the conclusion of an agreement gets extended, the worse the situation will be, and Greeks will feel the effects of their vote, the consultant said.

In his opinion, in Romania there will be at most a few hours of anxiety, because Romania has no direct channels of contagion with Greece. Trade volume is low, and the banking sector has already taken the appropriate measures, the president of Capital Partners says. On the other hand, Doru Lionăchescu thinks that overall, investors will be more reluctant when it comes to Eastern Europe.