Romania Safe From Ripple Effect After U.S. Lehman’s Collapse – PM

The battered U.S. financial system, which took a new hit with the collapse of Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers, has little or no connections to the Romanian one, Tariceanu said.

“Luckily, the Romanian financial system has no connections, strong or weak for that matter, to the American one, so there are no influences. These fears (that the Romanian economy will be negatively affected by the development in the U.S. economy – e.n.) have no support whatsoever,” Tariceanu said in a press conference.

Global markets plummeted on Monday after investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection.

Shares in European banks reported the biggest loss, as BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Dexia, Fortis and Societe Generale fell between 6% and 9%.