Expat bank CEO on protests in Romania: What we see today is a democratic exercise

Francois Bloch, the CEO of BRD - Groupe Société Générale, said on Thursday that what has been happening in the last two weeks in Romania is a democratic exercise that has nothing to do with political instability. He made the statement during a press conference in which he presented BRD’s annual results. “I’m not sure that we can talk at this time of political instability. What we see today is a democratic exercise, it has nothing to do with political instability. Stability is important for business. Stability on the regulatory framework, stability for customers, stability for our teams, transparency, predictability, all these elements are very important for our customers,” Francois Bloch said, reports local News.ro. Francois Bloch’s statement is the second reaction of a top bank CEO to the protests in Romania. A few days ago, Raiffeisen Bank CEO Steven van Groningen said he was impressed with the atmosphere at the protests in Bucharest’s Victoriei Square, and that he went there with his family every evening. He explained in a blog post that he did this because he is not indifferent for his children’s future or the future of the country he is living in. However, his presence at the protests hasn’t gone unnoticed by the local politicians who support the Government and who claim that the multinationals have been supporting these massive demonstrations. On Monday, BRD - Groupe Société Générale posted on its corporate Facebook page a message addressed to a Romanian who was called to the police station after several messages were projected on BRD’s headquarters in Victoriei Square from his apartment during the protests. In the Facebook post, the bank tells the Romanian that BRD has nothing to do with the police’s initiative. “If you need any other information that could help, please write to us a private message,” reads the post. People have been protesting in Victoriei Square for more than a week. During the protests, people use signs, flags, banners, or any other objects that would express their discontent towards the Government. In some evening, messages were projected on the buildings surrounding the square, including the Government’s building, and the BRD headquarters. The Embassy of Belgium in Romania also reacted to one of these messages, which said “Thank you foreign ambassadors.” The message referred to the fact that several foreign Embassies to Romania have reacted to the emergency ordinance adopted and then repealed, which would have changed the Penal Code. The Embassy of Belgium in Romania posted a photo of the projection on its Facebook page, with the message “You are welcome.”