Parliament Validates New Central Bank Board

• Stability, a difficult mission for the new BNR Directors

The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), nominated by the Budget - Finance Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, was validated in a plenary session yesterday with 251 votes in favour and 42 against for a term of office of five years.

Mugur Isarescu retains the office of Governor of the National Bank of Romania, whereas Florin Georgescu was reconfirmed for another term as First Vice Governor.

The nomination of National Liberal Party (PNL) representative Bogdan Olteanu came as a surprise and stirred outrage among Democrat-Liberal (PD-L) MPs, who claimed that a man of no experience in economics had no place "in the leadership of BNR." Although many analysts share this opinion, which also caught distinct attention in the media, the Parliament went on and validated Bogdan Olteanu as Vice Governor of BNR.

• Main objective: adopting the euro

After the Parliament"s validation vote, Governor Mugur Isarescu noted that the new Board would have a difficult mission as they were taking office under difficult circumstances. "The Board has a majority that ensures continuity. This majority and the new Members we welcome today will have to ensure stability of finances, prices, the national currency, lending and monetary flows," Governor Isarescu said.

The main strategic objective of the new Board is to ensure the adoption of the European currency in 2014-2015. "Despite current difficulties, this is an ambitious, but achievable objective. I believe that it can be the catalyst of efficiency in macroeconomic policy."

Governor Isarescu expressed appreciation towards the former Members of the BNR Board, "who have proven cohesion, professionalism and balance in achieving several important targets related to Romania"s accession to the European Union, including the capital account liberalization in a period of many perils."