The National Bank did not prepare the market for the shock caused by the unavoidable depreciation of the RON and is wrong to "point the finger" at the "cruel speculators" Misu Negritoiu, chief executive of ING Bank Romania told ZF in an interview.
"It makes me sad to see turmoil on the international markets ideologised and the NBR talking about speculations with RON and about "foreigners" again and again. They think dealers and analysts plotted together against Romania. It's wrong. It means they don't understand the rules. The functions are completely separate and this idea about market manipulation must be simply ruled out," Negritoiu stated.
He blames NBR for its "opaque approach", in one of the harshest positions ever expressed by a commercial banker against the central bank.
"The issue should have been discussed with the private sector a long time ago and preparations made. A clear message should have been conveyed that strengthening the RON was in no way the effect of an extraordinary performance on the part of economy; it was about an artificial peak that would have been corrected sooner or later. The "we're good, the RON is strong" attitude should have been abandoned faster."
Negritoiu, who has worked in the banking system for more than a decade and has been a minister and a presidential advisor says the NBR needs to change its attitude and begin to work with the private sector.
Business people have criticised the NBR lately for not having ensured the stability of the exchange rate and that the abrupt depreciation of the RON simply upset their budgets, partly because of the cost increase of foreign currency funding.
NBR started to react to the situation last autumn when it increased the intervention rate, followed the nominal monetary policy rate, which now stands at 8%.
Negritoiu believes the current situation was predictable, as ING analysts had repeatedly warned. Still, he believes it is unfair that the business environment should exclusively blame the NBR for what is happening with the RON.
"There are too many fingers being pointed at NBR. The currency represents the country. NBR has its share of the responsibility, but is not the only responsible, as everyone has contributed in one way or another to what is happening now. Generally speaking a new management of public policies is needed."
The head of ING Bank Romania, which manages more than 2 billion euros in assets says financial institutions behave rationally, based on valid judgments not chaotically or speculatively.
"We liked it when they strengthened the RON and helped inflation down, now we do not like it any more and believe they are all set to bring the RON down. You need to be able to understand why the market operates in a specific way, too."
The RON had been appreciating fast until last summer, an appreciation that did not seem to stop.
Things changed in the autumn, and an equally spectacular depreciation trend started at the beginning of this year.
The banker believes a "turning point" has come: you see what is going one, you have a deregulated market, you are part of the international game and have to behave accordingly, instead of threatening "foreigners" thinking they want to harm Romania.
"In an unfavourable international climate you have no way out, you cannot withdraw.
"Only when the wave hits you, you find you are not ready. If you like having group pictures taken in Brussels, you have to behave like them, too."
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