English
• Florin Georgescu, in the cards for leading the new Financial Oversight Authority
The government will set up the Financial Oversight Authority (ASF), which by March 15th 2013, will take over the functions and the prerogatives of the Romanian National Securities Commission (CNVM), of the Insurance Oversight Commission (CSA) and of the Commission for the Oversight of the Private Pension System (CSSPP), institutions which will subsequently be disbanded, according to a draft emergency ordinance of the Government.
According to our sources, the new Authority is set to be led by Florin Georgescu, the current finance minister.
Florin Georgescu could not be contacted to comment on this new information.
The moment the Authority will take over the functions of the CNVM, CSA and the CSSPP, the terms of the managers of the three institutions will lawfully end.
The draft law has already arrived at the CSSPP, and the institution is set to give a favorable ruling, according to some sources from the CSSPP.
The project of creating an authority which would regulate the stock market, and the insurance and pension industries, was pushed by the National Bank of Romania (NBR) and by the Ministry of Public Finances, and has been submitted to the European Commission, according to some market sources.
The draft ordinance caused diverging reactions among the stock market players. While some have expressed their extreme discontent, as they thought the "great haste" in bringing forward this project was suspicious, just one day after the elections, on the contrary, others consider that a unified authority is the only thing that would bring a real reform to the stock market.
Other opinions claim this is a political move, and that the current government did this because it wanted to eliminate the CNVM commissioners appointed by political parties others than the governing party.
The government justified the haste of the draft, claiming the irregularities it found in the activity of the stock market and the insurance sector, especially lately, which require the passing of legislative measures to improve the effectiveness of the oversight activities which fall outside the area of competence of the Central Bank.
"Taking these measures in an urgent form is necessary, considering that there is the risk that, under the current circumstances, where the tensions generated by the economic crisis endure, these dysfunctions would undermine the population's confidence in the services provided by the entire financial system and in their supervision, and dealing with it could no longer be postponed", according to the draft emergency ordinance.
The coordination and the institutional cooperation between the new oversight authority and the National Bank of Romania will ensure the elaboration and coherent implementation, on a national level, of the strategy for maintaining the stability of the entire financial system, according to the argumentation note for the project.
If we remember correctly, the merger of the oversight institutions is an older requirement of the European Union, which is also mentioned in the argumentation note for the draft: "The current emergency ordinance draft proposes the creation of a financial oversight authority in Romania, which follows the European institutional and legislative route, without instituting new principles, and which relies on elements of the most recent legal and institutional experience, of several member states (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, etc.), as well as the European best practices".
• The Financial Oversight Authority (ASF) will have 15 members
ASF will be led by a Council comprising 15 members, including one president and three vice-presidents.
The members of the ASF will be appointed by the Parliament, in the joint session of the two Chambers, upon the joint proposal of the Budget, Finances, Banking activities and Stock Market Commission, of the Economic, Industry and Services Commission of the Senate and, respectively, of the Budget, Finances and Banking Commission and of the Commission for Economic Policy, Reform and Privatization of the Chamber of Deputies.
The joint commissions of the Parliament will select the candidates, who will be appointed exclusively based on their expertise and professional qualification as overseers of the financial sector.
The appointment of the members of the Council of the ASF will be made for a period of five years, with the possibility for renewal.
The draft emergency ordinance mentions: "The ASF will take over the roles of the National Securities Commission (CNVM), of the of the Insurance Oversight Commission (CSA) and of the Commission for the Oversight of the Private Pension System (CSSPP), based on handover protocols concluded with each of them, within 15 days from the date of the appointment of the members of the Board of the ASF, but no later than March 15th, 2013, the money available in the accounts and the assets established by the financial statements drawn up according to art. 28 paragraph (1) of the Law of Accounting no. 82/1991, republished, with the subsequent amendments and modifications, as well as the other rights and obligations which arise from them."
The new authority will take over the positions and the staff of the three institutions, while maintaining the compensation packages they had at the time of the takeover.
The Financial Oversight Authority will have its headquarters in Bucharest, District 3, Foişorului St., where the Romanian National Securities Commission (CNVM) currently resides.
The CNVM is currently led by Carmen Negoiţă, who was appointed by the PDL, after the term of Gabriela Anghelache, who had been nominated by the PSD, expired in October. For that matter, in the Parliament, ever since September, "alleged irregularities were reported concerning the appointment of some members of the Romanian National Securities Commission (CNVM)", who were allegedly not professionally qualified for those positions.
The management of the CSA is ensured by a Council made up of seven members: Daniel George Tudor - president, Tudor Baltă and Gheorghe-Cornel Coca-Constantinescu - vice-presidents, and Dan Constantinescu, Alin Biro, Daniela Popa and Doru-Claudian Frunzulică.
In October, Constantin Buzoianu was dismissed from the Insurance Oversight Commission (CSA), based on a report drawn up by the Commission for investigating abuse, corruption and for petitions of the Chamber of Deputies, which mentioned that the insurance market in Romania "displays flaws when it comes to the prudential oversight and regulation, and has negative consequences on the insured".
The Commission for the Oversight of the Private Pension System (CSSPP) is led by a Council made up of five members: Marian Sârbu - president, Ion Giurescu - vice-president, Vlad Soare, Dragoş Mihalache and Cristian Vasile Toma.
Euro
Dolar SUA
Franc elveţian
Liră sterlină
Gram de aur
