and the “ status quo ” in an ever - changing financial system. i will stop here saying that i believe financial stability should always look towards the future. in this direction, significant progress has been made recently through the development of environmental, social and governance – or esg – investing. in this new paradigm, policy makers should first and foremost learn to assess and monitor new types of risks, such as climate change, and evaluate their growing impact on financial sector stability. in an open letter published three weeks ago on climate - related financial risks from the governor of bank of england mark carney, governor of banque de france francois villeroy de galhau and chair of the network for greening the financial services frank elderson, the significant effects of climate change are highlighted and a call for action from central banks and supervision is issued, with specific recommendations where central banks are encouraged to integrate sustainability into their own portfolio management. in closing, the authors recognize that “ climate change is a global problem, which requires global solutions, in which the whole financial sector has a crucial role to play ”. today we have unlocked the gates towards exotic, yet newsworthy debates here, in bucharest. therefore, permit me to extend an open invitation to you all for further discussions at the national bank of romania about the impact of climate changes on economies, finance and central banking. we will be honored to host such a conference in bucharest. thank you for your attention. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

mugur isarescu : gaps and economic crises in south - east europe – present and past opening speech by mr mugur isarescu, governor of the national bank of romania, at the conference " gaps and economic crises in south - east europe : present and past ", bucharest, 28 october 2016. * * * distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to warmly welcome you to the national bank of romania. the board of the national bank of romania and i are glad to host, for the second time, the annual conference of the south - east european monetary history network. five years ago, in march 2011, when nbr hosted this event for the first time, we expressed our interest and support. we firmly believe that a good understanding of history, of how our forerunners addressed issues linked to monetary and economic developments, sets the foundation for finding solutions to present day challenges. this conference brings together central bank representatives from albania, austria, bulgaria, greece, serbia and romania, as well as prominent members of academic and scientific european circles. i welcome you to romania and hope you will have opportunity to enjoy your brief stay. this year, the meeting is focused on economic cycles and economic crises in south - east europe, both past and present. this is a generous and challenging research topic. all the more so, there has always been a permanent concern in the past 150 years for the policy makers in the region to reduce the economic gaps between the countries in south - east europe and the developed ones. in spite of this preoccupation, the real life was, in almost all the cases, different. this kind of historical research, stretched over a longer period of time, could reveal to which extent the solutions adopted in time were the appropriate ones. given the interest shown by both economic and political decision - makers, we find it useful to highlight the role that central banks have played in the catching - up process. i have to confess that i am personally interested in this topic and i look forward to seeing the outcome of your debate. i do wish you success. allow me to say a few words about the south - east european monetary history network. after a decade since it has been launched in sofia, the network achieved notable results in its aim to collect and extract value from statistical and historical data. the most important one was the release, in 2014, of a book titled “ south - eastern european monetary and macroeconomic statistics from the nineteenth century to world war ii ”. it