Looking at on-going developments, we are better able to interpret the current situation and assess the fiscal and monetary stances. A good example of this improved understanding is the development of the SYNFINT, the Synthetic Financial Integration Indicator, presented in our Report and that is based on measures of crosscountry price dispersion in the money, bond, equity and banking markets in euro area countries. Looking ahead, we are also better equipped to warn about looming systemic risks or adjustment failings, as well as to identify strengths. 9 Macro-prudential policy will have an important role to play One of the more important goals of the on-going research is the grounding and calibration of macroprudential instruments. The need for a macro-prudential perspective is one of the main lessons stemming from the crisis. In fact, the whole regulatory reform after the crisis was internationally discussed in Basle or in the FSB and the G20, from the macro-prudential perspective. Indeed improving the design of Financial Regulation to ensure a resilient system is the first instrument of macro-prudential policy. I see macro-prudential policy as particularly important for the single currency, as macroprudential tools can in principle allow policymakers to address financial imbalances in a more country-specific and granular way. 9  See Fecht, Gruener and Hartmann, “Financial integration, specialization and systemic risk”, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 88, 2012. BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  I acknowledge that we do not yet have a large body of evidence on the effectiveness of these policies, especially in advanced economies.

Mugur Isărescu: Opening speech – conference “Investment and Investment Finance in Romania” Opening speech by Mr Mugur Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania, at the conference “Investment and Investment Finance in Romania”, organized by the National Bank of Romania and the European Investment Bank, Bucharest, 13 February 2020. * * * Vice President McDowell, State Secretary Gyorgy Attila, Distinguished audience, Ladies and gentlemen, It is a pleasure for me and the Board of Directors to welcome you at the National Bank of Romania, to the conference dedicated to Investment and Investment Finance in Romania. This conference has been organized by the European Investment Bank in partnership with the National Bank of Romania. In fact, this partnership has had a long standing as a pillar for progress and investment in Romania. Please allow me to express a heart-felt welcome and to extend my warmest thanks to Mr. Andrew McDowell, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank and to Ms. Debora Revoltella, Chief Economist of the European Investment Bank, for their continuous support and deep commitment to develop investments in Romania, and, moreover, for being trusted partners and friends. I am glad that we have decided to co-organize this conference here in Romania, at the central bank, as this year we honour two landmarks with historic importance. One is the National Bank of Romania’s 140th anniversary and the other is the 20 years’ celebration of the day (February 15th 2000) when the EU formally started the accession negotiations with Romania.