Romania’s Ctrl Bker: US Crisis Might Affect Euro Adoption In 2014

“It is premature to evaluate all the financial crisis’ details and its impact over Romania’s economy by 2014,” National Bank of Romania, or BNR, governor said Friday in a conference held at a university in the country’s central city of Cluj-Napoca.

“The crisis potential is quite big and it might change the current configuration of the international system by 2014. I am not a foreseer. It is possible,” Isarescu said.

According to the current timetable, Romanian authorities have set the euro adoption for 2014.

Isarescu mentioned that the international crisis will not have a direct impact over Romania’s economy, not because, as some analysts said recently, the country’s financial system is primitive, but due to the central bank’s severe lending regulation and the fact that Romanian banks avoided “toxic” loans.

“On the other hand, they (Romanian banks – e.n.) did not have the need for sophisticated products, as the Romanian market, in full expansion, had enough opportunities from basic products,” Isarescu added. But there will be indirect effects of the financial crisis, such as panic, he mentioned.

Isarescu added that the central bank will take the necessary measures for diminishing the negative effects.

“If rumors appear, we will try to calm down the population”, he said.