English Section

15 august 2018

"In 1997, the Lombard interest rate rose from 50% to 674%, in one night"

• (Interview with Radu Graţian Gheţea, President - CEO of CEC Bank)

In banking there are many risks and that is why banks need to be flexible and have as diverse an exposure as possible, which take the market circumstances at the time into account, says Radu Graţian Gheţea, President and CEO of CEC Bank. He told us, in an interview: "We have to adapt to what is happening in the market and we need to do things in such a way that the economic activity and that of the bank both function properly. If we're going with the idea that we want to eliminate every risk, then we'll just stop doing anything. For instance, we have been and we are a bank which heavily funds agriculture, which also means animal husbandry. A few years ago, our exposure to the aviculture sector was rather significant, and when the avian flu came we had to cover some non-performing loans on that segment. Now that the avian flu is done, we are facing the swine flu. What should we do, stop lending?"

Reporter: Lately, there have been opinions from some experts who are saying that there is a wave of non-performing loans of the ones taken out by the First Home Program. What is your comment on these statements?

"Banks of the future need to speak the same language as the new generations"

• (Interview with Laszlo Diosi, OTP Bank CEO)

Reporter: How would you describe the banking market, at the present time?

Laszlo Diosi: Even though there are plenty of challenges, there are also many opportunities for the Romanian banking system. The lessons of the financial-economic crisis have resulted in a better regulated framework, stable, transparent and predictable. The guiding line of the policies developed by the authorities that are qualified, but in particular by those with a regulatory and oversight role has been characterized by a balance between profitability and systemic safety.

But there is no shortage of challenges. We are talking here about challenges which concern the digitalization of the banking system and the national and international legislation. The entire system needs to align with complex and sometimes confused regulations.

Recorded by Emilia Olescu

"I would wholeheartedly vote for a Romexit"

• (Interview with Dan Paul, the president of the Association of Brokers)

The management of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) needs to find out from brokers whether Romania truly needs a derivatives market, says Dan Paul, the president of the Association of Brokers, who was kind enough to grant BURSA an interview.

THE DĂNCILĂ GOVERNMENT AFTER SIX MONTHSBudget deficit has increased 2.4 times

Now we know why prime-minister Dăncilă was in a hurry to announce the activity report for the first six months at the helm of the Romanian government: the nice tale of the hike of pensions and salaries wasn't supposed to be overshadowed by the evolution of budget expenses, whose increase has led the deficit of the consolidated general budget to 1.61% of the GDP, from 0.88% after the first five months of the year.

BECAUSE AN AGREEMENT ON THE PRICE COULDN'T BE REACHED, The Alro Public Offer has failed

The public offer started by Vimetco and Conef for a stake of at most 53.77% of the shares of Alro Slatina (Alro) has been unsuccessful, as the issuer announced that due to the unfavorable market conditions, the shareholders, company and underwriters couldn't agree on a price for the volume of 383.79 million shares put up for sale.

1 Euro5.0923

1 Fr. elveţian5.4513

BNR

1 Liră sterlină5.7920

BNR

1 Dolar SUA4.3442

BNR

1 Gram Aur602.8470

BET23885.83

BET FI92628.58

BET NG1754.47

ECONOMIC ANALYST AURELIAN DOCHIA PREDICTS:"A hike in taxes, unavoidable in the near future"

• According to Eurostat, Romania has the biggest governmental deficit in the EU

Russia World CupThe last assault in Moscow: France - Croatia

The final tournament of the World Football Cup will end with a gala representation, the duel between Croatia and France. France, the with the most expensive players in the tournament, has met the expectations, Croatia is the biggest surprise the...

FOOTBALL AND MONEYProfessionally sold image

Cristiano Ronaldo (33 years old) had several hits over the last few days, even though in the final tournament of the World Championship he failed to exceed expectations, as Portugal was eliminated in the round of eight.

Pictured, the ground floor of the "Vasco da Gama" Shopping Mall, Lisbon - photograph by MAKE, personal collection.

The global water crisis is avoiding Romania

The world is intensely preparing for a water crisis, the most important resource for human life. The signs, on a continental and global level, that there is a water problem are increasingly clear.

20 award winners at the Gala of the BURSA Construcţiilor magazine

The Bursa Construcţiilor magazine, published by the BURSA press group, has taken the first step in the third decade of existence and has awarded, in this year's Gala, no fewer than 20 awards of excellence, to some of the most important...

A VOTE FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMERA hopeless vote of no-confidence

In the plenum joint meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, which will be held today starting at 14:00, will be debated and put up for vote the vote of no-confidence against the government submitted by 152 members of the opposition....

The transition towards autocracy

Even without the court ruling rendered in first instance by the High Court of Cassation and Justice in the lawsuit of the fictitious hiring at the Child Protection Department of Teleorman the focus on getting all the institutional levers under...

Three scenarios for the suspension of the President

The Romanian Constitution:

The chronology of the reunion

The reunion scheduled today between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un is taking place in Singapore due to the relative neutrality and the security this city-state provides. Singapore is one of the few countries that still hosts a North-Korean embassy,...

The banking revolution in Switzerland

"It is a good thing that the public doesn't understand the functioning of our banking and monetary system, because otherwise I think there would be a revolution in the streets by dawn".

Again about the Second Pillar in 1000 words

The "pension apocalypse is coming"! The more or less qualified keep talking in the written press, TV and on the radio. The uncertainty is being preserved - deliberately by some, by the government members out of pure stupidity!

"Where there are entrepreneurs there is creation, where there are women entrepreneurs there is divine creation"

GABRIELA MIHAELA VOICILĂ, THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT MINISTER:"Where there are entrepreneurs there is creation, where there are women entrepreneurs there is divine creation"

Where there are many entrepreneurs there is creation, where there are many women entrepreneurs there is divine creation, says Gabriela Mihaela Voicilă, state secretary in the Ministry for the Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship...

lawsuits against the banksThe County court of Cluj has frozen the exchange rate for the Euro at the value it had on the date the loan was originated, in a lawsuit against Raiffeisen Bank.

IN THE LAWSUITS AGAINST THE BANKSThe courts have begun freezing the Euro exchange rate at the historic value

• Piperea: "In the Andriciuc case, the EU Court of Justice has not limited its argumentation to the CHF, but expanded it to cover any currency for which the debtors weren't hedged"

IN THE ROMANIAN BANANA REPUBLIC...The exogenous factor provides, bless the exogenous factor!

The urge "Mircea, act like you're working!", back in the days of the so-called revolution of December 1989, was brought back recently by a new "director".

The promised embassy in Jerusalem

Liviu Dragnea's insistence in moving the Romanian embassy from Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem, feeds an older, widespread confusion. Much older. Politically, Jerusalem has been divided from the first presence of the Judeans on the lands of the...

Financial fair-play means health of the press

Financial fair play is a concept that comes from the world of soccer. The notion is simple, don't spend more than you earn in a month, or in a year, regardless of what shareholder, mogul or investor enters the business.

Klaus Iohannis: "The entire legislative package has been passed by the parliament in one week, and then naturally, more than four months and three decisions of the CCR have been necessary to correct some of its provisions".

Iohannis has established the course of the law of the judicial system: The Venice Commission - the Romanian Constitutional Court

President Klaus Iohannis has announced that he has decided to send to the Constitutional Court the laws on the judicial system, but also to the Venice Commission. The president has issued a call to the CCR not to hurry and to work with the...

Rich - healthy, longevous; poor - fat chance of both

The dystopia of 2169 seems to be 151 years away from us, if we were to watch the American sci-fi movie "In Time", in which New Zealand screenwriter, director and producer New Zealand Andrew M. Niccol has imagined a world in which money...

DEPUTY PRIME-MINISTER VIOREL ŞTEFAN: "The sale of ArcelorMittal Galaţi will be done only with the explicit agreement of the Romanian state"

• Bogdan Chiriţoiu: "The European Commission will force the future buyer of Sidex Galaţi to increase the output of steel"

Iliescu on trial - history begins now...

• "Iliescu on trial for all the bloodshed!" was one of the powerful slogans of the University Square, as well as "Iliescu - KGB, go back to the USSR!".

"Mission Accomplished!"

• - The Syrian gas attack did not exist, the American missiles were brought down, then where are the dead coming from?!

Soros, Rothschild, Rockefeller and a buddy of mine from India are investing in the farce called Bitcoin

New Delhi, March 4th, 2017 - I am in the garden of the Royal Plaza hotel, sitting next to the table of a group of Indians, probably Hindus, two women in colorful saris and two men, all of them in their fifties. They are checking me out, I...

FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER THE LOSS OF 2.6 BILLION LEI OF 2014BCR proposed the distribution of dividends

The Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR) has proposed to shareholders the distribution of dividends of 228.12 million lei, out of the profit of 570 million lei, for last year, this being the first year with such an item on the agenda of the General...

Does the National Bank of Romania still have a monetary policy strategy?

The website of the National Bank of Romania still includes the statement that its monetary policy strategy is the direct targeting of inflation.

No investor have expressed interest in the privatization of the Sanevit Arad syringe factory

No investor has expressed interest in the privatization of the "Sanevit 2003" disposable syringes factory of Arad, as part of the last procedure initiated by the Ministry of the Economy, which took over the company in 2012 to save ut from...

ALEXANDRU BOTEZ, ELECTRICA SHAREHOLDER:"Daniel Chiţoiu and ALDE are behaving as if Electrica were their own fief"

The proposal of the Ministry of Energy that the shareholders of Electrica (EL) decide, in the General Shareholder Meeting of April 27th, the election of the members of the Board of Directors, through the cumulative vote method, for a term of four...

Financial crisis yellow code warning in the United States

"The markets are turning into the markets' greatest enemy", wrote an analyst of Goldman Sachs in a note addressed to its customers, according to an article by Bloomberg, and the jump in the VIX volatility index last month "is a...

AS SHAREHOLDER,Dan Paul sues "Cemacon"

• UPDATE 15.45 "Cemacon" confirms the lawsuit brought by Dan Paul

Press: "The NBR has blocked the acquisition of Banca Românească by OTP Bank"

THE NATIONAL BANK OF ROMANIA ISN'T COMMENTING, EVEN THOUGH BOTH COMMERCIAL BANKS ARE LISTED ON THE STOCK EXCHANGEPress: "The NBR has blocked the acquisition of Banca Românească by OTP Bank"

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) has blocked the acquisition of Banca Românească by OTP Bank România, according to information which appeared yesterday in the Romanian press, as well as on some foreign websites. Thus, the NBR hasn't issued...

The OMV board has presented the company's strategy until 2025.

RAINER SEELE, OMV:"We are dedicated to collaboration with Gazprom and we won't endanger our partnership"

OMV wants to reduce its dependence on the European market, between 2020-2025, and will focus on acquisitions in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, according to CEO Rainer Seele.

ACCORDING TO AN EUROPEAN COMMISSION DOCUMENT, SEEN BY BLOOMBERGThe EU wants to set 25% tariffs on various US imports

The European Union (EU) intends to apply tariffs for imports of 2.8 billion Euros (3.5 billion dollars) in the US, from T-shirts and bourbon, to motorbikes, if American president Donald Trump continues its plan to impose 25% tariffs for foreign...

USA: "We will not exempt any country from the application of steel and aluminum tariffs"

One of the top advisors to US president Donald Trump has recently announced that the US will not make any exception from the application of tariffs set on imported steel and aluminum, even if the EU is preparing reprisals, according to ft.com.

LAST WEEK, ROMANIA HAD THE BIGGEST IMPORTS OF NATURAL GAS IN THE LAST FIVE YEARSANRE, auditing Transgaz, E.ON, ENGIE and OMV

Last week, Romania imported about one third of the daily natural gas consumption to get it through the cold winter period, these being the biggest daily imports of natural gas in the last five years, according to some sources from the energy...

A POSSIBLE CONTRACT FOR THE SPARE PARTS NEEDED BY PATRIOT MISSILESAll time high for "Aerostar" stock, after the "Raytheon" quote request

Shares of "Aerostar" Bacău (ARS) yesterday rose 6.5%, to 5.24 lei/share, taking the company's valuation to an all time high - 797.93 million lei, after American company Raytheon announced that it has requested a quote from ARS, to get...

REPORT FROM BRUSSELS / EUROPEAN ENERGY COMMISSION:"The amendments of the Industries Commission to Emergency Government Ordinance 64 cannot be approved"

The European Commission is encouraging dialogue with the Romanian authorities concerning Emergency Government Ordinance 64 of 2016 concerning the natural gas sector, but if the issues on this matter cannot be resolved, we may resort to the...