bucharest, april 29th 2020 mugur isarescu, governor of the national bank of romania dear colleagues, early this year, we found ourselves during challenging times, under an awful threat of medical nature, which has affected our lives, as well as the global economy. many sectors have experienced sudden stops. the negative effects of covid - 19 pandemic have required the adoption of comprehensive and coordinated packages of measures in order to respond to lockdowns and deterioration of economies, trying at the same time to establish grounds for future opening up and strategies for restarting the activities. recent history has shown us that central banks have always exerted their full functions within mandate to support countries and people to overcome the economic effects of wars, catastrophes and disasters of any kind. these trying times make no exception. the outstanding cooperation within the framework of the prestigious bank for international settlements, of its remarkable members and management, will stand proof for deepening our commitments that bind us all. on a more positive note, i wish to let you know that the national bank of romania celebrates today its 140 year anniversary. the day of april 29th has a strong historical significance. since mid19th century, the romanian society had witnessed swift, in - depth social, economic, political and institutional changes. so, steps were taken to found a central bank, drawn on the statutory principles of banque de france and the national bank of belgium. on april 29th 1880, the law on the establishment of a discount and circulation bank, i. e. the act laying down the setting up of the national bank of romania, was published, ranking our institution among the first modern central banks. we hold dear the memory of our founding fathers. we honour them each year, but now i wish to commemorate two of them : the prime minister of those times, ion c. bratianu, whose commitment and great efforts materialized in the cornerstone law for the establishment of romania ’ s central bank as a modern institution for “ monetary circulation and a solid credit system ” and the the artisan of the national bank of romania eugeniu carada, advisor to the prime minister, a man of deeds, rather than words. eugeniu carada took up the strategic mission to achieve the establishment of our central bank, had a clear vision of its role and set up a sound and modern credit system to foster loans and investments. by implementing modern instruments and policies for those times, the national bank of romania also contributed to the expansion of financial intermediation

corporate governance practices, but we must press on with continual improvements. as regulators, professional bodies, investors, academics and the media, we each have a role – let us work closely together in this journey. finally, while my comments have focused mainly on singapore, it is heartening that we have such a deep and diverse group of investors and practitioners from around the region. i am sure there will be much that we can learn from each other, and i hope that deep and frequent interactions like this catalyse new ideas and spur us all to do better. i wish you a fruitful conference. thank you.