Romania's central bank argues against changing ROBOR calculation

Top officials of Romania's National Bank (BNR) firmly rejected the idea of changing the methodology used for calculating the interbank interest rates - ROBOR, which banks use as benchmarks for setting interest rates on consumer and mortgage loans. Lucian Croitoru, an advisor to BNR governor Mugur Isarescu, told Bloomberg that “any discussion on ROBOR would be pointless," according to local Hotnews.ro. His statement came as a reaction to a statement by PM Viorica Dancila's advisor Darius Valcov, who told Bloomberg that local banks could avoid paying the new tax on financial assets if the central bank agreed to discuss the ROBOR methodology. BNR’s firm statement is likely to pour cold water on the banks’ shares after their rally in previous days. Croitoru claims that the Government officials do not understand whatsoever how the money market works. The investors expect, however, tangible results from the negotiations between BNR and the Government. “It is a beginning of dialogue after such dialogue lacked for a long period. We wait to see where this will lead,” said Tiberiu Moisa, vice-president of Banca Transilvania quoted by Wall-Street.ro. Other analysts see that there is room for open debates on the methodology used for calculating ROBOR, particularly as the LIBOR methodology is under review as well, following market manipulation allegations. Romania’s “greed tax ordinance” explained: Govt. comes with new taxes for key sectors in the name of social justice editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Pixabay.com)