The National Bank Romania’s experience As regards the National Bank of Romania, one key challenge to policy communication effectiveness concerns the apparent divergence between actual inflation and that perceived by the public. In a country that saw annual inflation running at 300 percent back in the 1990s and succeeded to tame prices in the single-digit zone for over more than a decade, this divergence has gradually declined. This issue has steadily been in our focus. In 2005, two years before Romania’s EU accession, the shift to a flexible inflation targeting strategy and redenomination of the local currency brought about more discipline in communication and transparency. Thus, regular media briefings  (almost every six weeks), more specialised publications, as well as educational materials, conferences and seminars, livestreams and online tools, dedicated outreach projects which put at good use our territorial network, increased social media presence with tweeting, videos, tutorials and educational games or blogging (actually, we were among the pioneers in blogging) became part of the National Bank of Romania’s standard communication practice. The diversification of instruments and audiences came in swiftly. Some steps came only recently (2016) – amid fears of misleading or misunderstanding by the general public that was yet to grasp the very essence of the banking and financial business, not to mention central bank activities –, such as publishing the summary of accounts of monetary policy meetings and the pay thresholds or even regular parliamentary presence.

First is Mainland authorities’ efforts to connect the interbank and exchange bond markets, which will allow participants in each market to access securities in the other market through an infrastructure connection without having to open separate accounts. This should ultimately be beneficial to the growth of both the CIBM and exchange bond markets, thus creating a bigger pie. 15. Foreign investors who access the interbank market through Bond Connect or CIBM Direct will be able to trade in the exchange market, which is the platform where most non-financial corporate bonds are lodged. The construction of the system linkage between the onshore infrastructure institutions is under way. Upon completion, the HKMA’s Central Moneymarkets Unit will explore with the Mainland side on the system enhancements required for Bond Connect investors to participate in the exchange bond market. 16. This development moves closer to having a single access point to the onshore bond market and will further open up access to the fast-growing credit bond market which remains relatively untapped by international investors. This presents an opportunity for investors to look further along the credit curve for diversification and yield. Relatedly, the entry of foreign firms into the onshore credit rating business is expected to facilitate this process, speed up the convergence of local and global ratings standards, and enhance foreign investors’ analysis of corporate credit. 17. Secondly, Mainland and Hong Kong stock exchanges have reached an agreement to include eligible ETFs in the Stock Connect scheme and technical preparations are under way.