THE REFORM OF NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA AFTER ACCESSION TO EU: CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

In January 2007, Romania had become a member of the European Union and the National Bank of Romania a member of The European System of Central Banks (ESCB). This event was a confirmation of the success of Romanian reforms, but, on the other hand, it was a beginning of a new stage in the process of accomplishing the nominal and real convergence conditions, set in the Maastricht Treaty. In this study we have done some considerations about the NBR's reform performances before and after EU accession and, also, we have talked about the main challenges and perspectives for Romanian central bank in the new economic environment imposed by the integration process.European integration, central bank, reform, challenges, perspectives

FINANCIAL SUPERVISION STRUCTURE IN ROMANIA. A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

In this paper we assess the financial supervision and regulation structure inRomania. To this purpose, we calculate and interpret the Financial Supervision UnificationIndex (FSU Index) and the Central Bank as Financial Authority Index (CBFA) at the level ofthe year 2011 (August), according to Masciandaro‘s methodology (2004) for all EU27member countries in order to make comparisons with the Romanian ones. We propose achange in the present Romanian financial supervisory regime from the silos model to a hybridone, arrangement that supposes a combination of the sectoral model with the objectives-centred model.central bank, financial stability, Romanian financial supervision and regulation structure,the FSU Index, the CBFA Index

A Comparative Analysis of the Efficiency of Romanian Banks

In this paper, we analyze the efficiency of the main banks in Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary for the period 2000-2006, by using the frontier analysis. For the estimation of efficiency of banking we used a nonparametric method – the DEA Method (Data Envelopment Analysis) and a parametric method - the SFA Method (Stochastic Frontier Analysis). The results of the analyses show that the banks in the three East-European countries reach low levels of technical efficiency and cost efficiency, especially the ones in Romania, and that the main factors influencing the level of banks efficiency in these countries are: quality of assets; bank size, annual inflation rate; banking reform and interest rate liberalisation level and form of ownership.efficiency, banking, DEA method, SFA method

Northern Rock: The Crisis of a UK Mortgage Lender

The global market liquidity squeeze for securities that initiated in 2007 has increased pressure among banks to sell, pushed down prices, and impacted the market for interbank loans, leading to a funding gap at Northern Rock, Britain’s fifth largest mortgage bank. This paper presents an analysis of the events that lead to the collapse of Northern Rock in the second half of 2007 and its rescue by the UK Government towards the end of the same year and the beginning of 2008. The paper presents the implications and banking reforms proposed by the UK financial authorities.financial crisis, banking reforms, financial regulation

Foreign direct investments and the real convergence. An approach for Romania and Bulgaria

This paper outlines the need for an analysis of the extent to which foreign direct investments (FDIs) affects real convergence expressed using the following selected macroeconomic indicators: Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the unemployment rate (UR), labour productivity (LP) per person employed and the minimum wage (MW). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on real convergence in Romania’s and Bulgaria’s economy for the period from 2004-2014. The main results for both Romania and Bulgaria show that FDI can be considered important sources of growth for real convergence that have contributed to economic growth, increased labour productivity and increased the minimum wage except for the unemployment rate. The results confirmed our expectations because be logically, foreign firms bring their own technology, appropriate for the work of the employees, in order for their employees to produce as much as possible and pay salaries relatively higher compared to companies with local capital, but they demand instead a higher productivity. &nbsp

Controversies on the Central Bank Main Objective of Price Stability

In the present study we propose a critical approach to the concept of price stability. In the beginning we have considered a literature review regarding price stability issues. After that we have discussed about its implications in central banking and economy. Also, according to the statutes of 128 countries, we have done a statistical study of central banks in the light of the chosen statutory objective

Why are banks special? An approach from the corporate governance perspective

High standards in the governance of banks and firms are very important for economic growth. Banks have a critical position in the development of economies due to their major role in running the financial system. The banking industry is unique because it is simultaneously consolidating and diversifying. There is a significant public dimension to the banking firm; bank managers function in the light of two distinct sets of interests: one is the private interest, internal to the firm, and the other is the public interest, external to the firm. Previous literature analyses the implications of banks' specific attributes on their corporate governance framework. It emphasises two major aspects: greater opaqueness and greater regulation. Whether these attributes have a weakening effect on the traditional corporate governance mechanism is a matter debated by most research papers on the subject. This study is done on the specific characteristics of banks from the point of view of current economic framework, and the implications of these characteristics on the governance of banks. This paper analyses the environment with increased regulation of the banking firm, as a governance control mechanism.Banks; Corporate governance, Regulation and supervision; Stakeholders, Basel Accord

Corporate Social Responsibility And Sustainability In Romanian Commercial Banks

The research paper aims to underline the importance of civic behavior in business and bank’s role in the implementation of sound principles of corporate social responsibility. The authors analyzed terms such as corporate social responsibility, sustainable development, fi-nancial stability and the relationship between them, in order to explain their impact on the proper function of world economy. The authors provided a synthesis of corporate social responsibility principles and codes of con-duct as well as an overview of the consumer protection system in Romanian financial sector. The article furnishes examples of good practices in the Romanian banking sector compared to the European one, realizing a case study on Group Societe Generale’s corporate social responsibility mission statement."banking, corporate social responsibility, financial stability, sustainable development, consumer protection

Northern Rock: the crisis of a UK mortgage lender

The global market liquidity squeeze for securities that initiated in 2007 has increased pressure among banks to sell, pushed down prices, and impacted the market for interbank loans, leading to a funding gap at Northern Rock, Britain’s fifth largest mortgage bank. This paper presents an analysis of the events that lead to the collapse of Northern Rock in the second half of 2007 and its rescue by the UK Government towards the end of the same year and the beginning of 2008. The paper presents the implications and banking reforms proposed by the UK financial authorities.mortgage bank; market liquidity; banking reforms; financial authorities; financial crisis

EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS FOR FINANCIAL CRISES -A CRITICAL APPROACH

This research paper aims to analyse some Early Warning Systems (EWS) for predicting financial crises. The importance of such a study is undeniable in the context of the current and future mix of policies applied by the monetary authority, in which financial stability and price stability play an important role. The EWS for crises enable the prediction of the occurrence of a crisis within a specified time period. Hence, the theoretical approach of the main early warning systems for crises, the models based on signal extraction and the logit/probit models represent an important stage in preventing and fighting financial crises