Dan Paul and Septimiu Stoica running for the presidency of the Brokers" Association

Elections for the top position of the Brokers" Association are scheduled for today, with the two runners being Dan Paul, the current chairman and Septimiu Stoica, the president of the Romanian Commodities Exchange (BRM).

Other candidates may submit their candidature for the presidency or for a seat on the Board, during today"s Meeting of the Board, but must receive the approval of the Board.

Septimiu Stoica also ran last year for a seat on the board of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, but withdrew from the race before the vote of BSE shareholders took place.

Contacted by Bursa, Septimiu Stoica explained he wants to become the chairman of the Brokers" Association, in order to take it down a new road. He said: "I think that the Association needs to go back to its roots which are meant to represent the interests of brokers in their relationship with other institutions of the capital markets. It could do better in this respect than it did before. I want the Association to stop taking sides and remain neutral in its relationship with the institutions of the market".

Dan Paul, the current chairman, wants to continue the projects that he has initiated, such as the Romanian-Over-The Counter (ROTC) system, as well as to develop new ones. He said: "I have several projects intended to support the equity market, we are discussing with the Finance and Banking University of the Romanian Banking Institute in order to develop a university specializing in financial markets. We want to attract as many students as possible towards the stock market, by offering free courses".

Mr. Paul said he had many achievements during his tenure: "The Association has become the largest educational institution during my tenure, I have helped eliminate the tax on stock market gains in 2009 and I have increased the visibility of the Association".

By noon yesterday, several candidates had applied for a seat on the board: Nicolae Gherguş, general manager of "Confident Invest", Iancu Stavrositu, of "Interfinbrok Corporation", Vergil Popescu and Viorica Nagy of Eteba Romania.

The elections of the Brokers" Association will take place just a few weeks before those of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, scheduled for January 2010, even though the warrants of the current officials of the Association don"t expire until February next year.