Romanian financial and banking sector firmly rejects accusations regarding alleged manipulation of ROBOR
The Romanian financial and banking sector firmly rejects the accusations regarding the alleged manipulation of ROBOR and warns that the position of the Competition Council regarding the adoption of a decision to sanction market participants risks ser. . .
The Romanian financial and banking sector firmly rejects the accusations regarding the alleged manipulation of ROBOR and warns that the position of the Competition Council regarding the adoption of a decision to sanction market participants risks seriously affecting public trust, financial stability and investment credibility of Romania, according to an open letter from the Romanian Association of Banks and the Federation of Employers of Financial Services in Romania. "We have taken note, with deep indignation at an inexplicable abuse, of the Competition Council's communications regarding the adoption of a decision on alleged manipulation of ROBOR by market participants. We hereby convey the fact that the Romanian financial-banking sector firmly rejects the accusations regarding the alleged manipulation of ROBOR and warns that these communications of the Competition Council on the adoption of a decision to sanction market participants - all the more so since there is no argumentation of the committed acts or the violated legal norms - risk seriously affecting public trust, financial stability and investment credibility of Romania. The evolution of ROBOR must be understood in the context of real macroeconomic pressures in recent years - inflation, uncertainty, fiscal imbalances and the increase in the cost of financing - and not transformed into a fault attributed to the banking sector", the document reads. At the same time, the organizations call for institutional prudence, legal rigor, predictability and responsible dialogue, so that the functioning of a regulated market and the essential role of banks in the economy are not compromised by premature conclusions or by public communication likely to fuel distrust. According to the representatives of the organizations, Romania's economic problems need solutions, not blame for the current situation. "ROBOR has increased in a context marked by high inflation, global uncertainty, pressure on liquidity, rising cost of money, fiscal imbalances and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions in Romania. The ROBOR level has reflected inflation, uncertainty, imbalances and crises in recent years. Presenting ROBOR as an indicator of alleged guilt, not as an indicator of the crisis, means denying and reversing economic reality, finding a scapegoat in banks and selling people the illusion of easy money, while the real problem derives from inflation and inflationary policies that have increased the cost of living," they argue. The Competition Council has sanctioned 10 banks with fines totaling 3. 73 billion lei for violating competition rules, namely the competition law and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, by coordinating behavior within the ROBOR setting procedure. The largest fine, 875. 74 million lei, was imposed on Banca Transilvania S. A. To this is added a fine of 85. 03 million lei imposed on Banca Transilvania SA for the act committed by OTP Bank Romania SA. Next is Banca Comerciala Romana SA, with a fine of 577. 36 million lei; Raiffeisen Bank Romania SA, with a fine of 442. 49 million lei; UniCredit Bank SA, with a fine of 431. 03 million lei; BRD-Groupe Societe Generale SA, with a fine of 412. 47 million lei; ING Bank N. V. Amsterdam Bucharest Branch, with a fine of 405. 91 million lei; CEC Bank SA, with a fine of 332. 98 million lei; Exim Banca Romaneasca, with a fine of 96. 49 million lei; Libra Internet Bank, with a fine of 45. 86 million lei; Banca Comerciala Intesa Sanpaolo Romania, with a fine of 28. 1 million lei.