THE "BENEFITS OF MEDIATION IN DEALING WITH CONFLICTS" CONFERENCE /RADU GRAŢIAN GHEŢEA: "Together with the ANPC, we want to increase the awareness level when it comes to mediation"

According to its president, Radu Graţian Gheţea, the Romanian Banking Association (ARB) is considering the initiation of a draft law for increasing the awareness of the population about mediation, which would be submitted to the National Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC).

He said that the Romanian Banking Association has included among the projects conducted together with the World Bank, since back in 2007, the creation of the Ombudsman in Romania, but it ran against the lack of interest of the mediators.

"We have wanted to create a mediation association which would be subsidized by the banking community, but we ran against a vehement reaction of the media, as we have been suspected of trying to influence the outcome", said Radu Graţian Gheţea.

The financial crisis has made the use of mediation increasingly necessary, which led, in 2010, to the apparition of the first specialized mediators in the banking sector, the president of the Romanian Banking Association said, who also expressed his discontent over the fact that the Association of Mediators in the Financial and Banking Sector (FINBAN) is not known well enough among the members of the public. He also expressed his hope that once the new legislation would come into effect, the services of the association would see more demand.

"The banking sector isn't just a supporter of mediation, but its members actually insist that the first mediation take place at the bank, in the absence of a mediator", Radu Graţian Gheţea further said.