and the dissemination of financial education, since 1880 until the present day. even though we are living difficult times, we should remember that we share a common institutional collective memory. the national bank of romania has been a member of the bank for international settlements since its establishment, on january 20, 19301, when the final act of the second hague conference2 was adopted. on behalf of all my colleagues in romania, we salute the great endeavours of all the predecessors that steered the global banking and finances in the last 90 years and overcame major challenges and financial and economic crises, to foster enhanced preparedness for future times. starting with 1 january 2007, when romania joined the european union, the national bank of romania became part of the european system of central banks ( escb ). such a long and substantial period has forged the central bank into a pillar for the banking system, building trust and ensuring reliability. the national bank of romania stands as a promoter of the country ’ s economy, policies, society and collective spirit, national dignity and international openness. during 140 years of eventful history, the national bank of romania has contributed to romania ’ s destiny and her trustworthy position on the international stage. every year we have been celebrating together : colleagues both from the national bank of romania and other central banks around the world, colleagues from international financial institutions, academia, historians, university students, journalists, etc. we get together to remember those who came before us, to exchange opinions on matters of the day and imagine the future. the current situation prevents us from meeting in person and enjoying the dialogue. we are confident that better days are ahead and we will be able to celebrate the national bank of romania together in bucharest. https : / / ihl - databases. icrc. org / ihl / intro / 185 https : / / ihl - databases. icrc. org / applic / ihl / ihl. nsf / article. xsp? action = opendocument & documentid = b5f24859d28a2c45c12563cd00516449

mugur isarescu : the regional finance and investment for south east europe keynote address by mr mugur isarescu, governor of the national bank of romania, at the euromoney regional finance and investment conference for south east europe, bucharest, 12 june 2014. * * * prime minister, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour for me to be invited to speak in front of such a distinguished audience. i am very glad that, after three years “ off ”, euromoney conferences is re - launching the event in romania. time has come for bucharest to host this important event, held for several years in dubrovnik. the joy of giving the keynote address at this conference is bigger as i had the opportunity to read the first issues of euromoney magazine while being a young research fellow at the world economy institute in the early ‘ 70s. for years it was one of my favourite magazines. back in 1978, i also had the opportunity to visit the editorial offices in london. i could not help but notice that you have chosen a generous theme : “ the regional finance and investment for south east europe ” and you have set yourselves to approach themes that i am particularly interested in, like : pro - growth strategies in an age of austerity ; what more can policy - makers do? ; how will governments incentivise overseas investors? ; how can the region increase eu fund absorption rates? i wish you fruitful discussions and i am looking forward to seeing what answers you might find to address the issues highlighted in the panels of this conference. as the focus of the conference is on economic growth and development in romania and the wider south - east europe region, allow me to elaborate on this topic. i will approach the subject from the perspective of a central banker. let me start by saying that sustainable economic growth of both romania and the region relies mainly on economic policy consistency. the global economic and financial crisis has proved yet again that there is no valid substitute for consistent economic policies. the correction of economic policy errors is, everywhere and always, painful and, while difficult to comprehend by the public at large, it is absolutely necessary. the case of romania is highly illustrative in this respect. large macroeconomic imbalances had been steadily accumulating during the boom years, as a result of sizeable foreign capital inflows and credit expansion, the impact of which was augmented by a pro - cyclical stance of fiscal policy, especially in the last two years before