through investments from european funds. romania has certainly come a long way in terms of economic convergence, with growth resuming and gaining momentum after the global economic crisis : its gdp per capita as a share in the eu average ( based on pps ) more than doubled from 30. 6 percent in 2003 to 62. 7 percent in 2017. the advance was the fastest within the group of peer countries that recorded similar trends : for instance, bulgaria went from 32. 4 to 49. 3 percent, while hungary, the czech republic and poland, which started from a more advanced level, added between 7 and 22 percentage points to the same indicator during 2003 – 2017. to a certain extent, the speed of convergence was, in the case of romania, fueled by the flexibility of our exchange rate regime. the movements in the leu exchange rate cushioned some unexpected shocks that hindered economic growth, keeping it at a higher level and avoiding excessive output volatility. but, besides numbers and levels, i believe that the sustainability of real convergence is essential, especially for eu member states like romania, for which the obvious next stage is joining the euro area. indeed, to attain a certain degree of per capita income convergence before switching to the euro is essential, as a large convergence gap may complicate business cycle management in the absence of independent monetary policy. and, unlike the eu, the euro area proved it is not a “ convergence club ”, as its current members did not necessarily increase their convergence level after adopting the euro. but, while the optimal level of real convergence for a successful euro area entry is still a controversial issue, the consistency and sustainability of convergence are, in my opinion, at least as important as its level. on this convergence path, i believe that it is very important to avoid divergence, even inside the country. in romania, one can find areas that are comparable, in terms of development and living standards, to western economies, but also regions that trail well behind : in 2017, the wealthiest region in romania was almost four times richer than the poorest one ( based on regional per capita gdp ). so, even though the eu membership has acted as a catalyst for country - level real convergence, the development gaps across the regions of romania have actually increased. shortly after the eu accession, there was a surge in economic optimism, translating into an acceleration in economic growth, along with a credit and real estate boom. despite the efforts of national bank of romania, which maintained a pr

remarks by daniel mminele, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, at the annual financial markets department cocktail function johannesburg 10 may 2018 ladies and gentlemen, good evening. it is with pleasure that i welcome you to the annual cocktail function of the financial markets department ( fmd ) of the south african reserve bank ( sarb ), which is now in its 12th year. we are greatly honoured by your presence tonight. the deal i struck with our financial markets department for moving this function from pretoria to johannesburg was that i would be allowed to speak for 90 minutes. introduction allow me in welcoming you to this event, to make some brief observations about financial market developments since we last met and to touch on what could be in store for us in the period ahead. i would also like to draw your attention to two of our initiatives that are gathering momentum, and which will require your cooperation over the next few months. i know that our views on domestic monetary policy are always of interest to financial market participants, but as we are on the eve of entering into the closed period for our next monetary policy committee meeting, which starts on 22nd may, i shall refrain from any comments today, and ask for your patience until you get our most recent take in about two weeks ’ time. the global financial markets backdrop since the last fmd cocktail function, global financial markets have had to ponder over a plethora of developments, including the strengthening synchronised global growth environment, changing perceptions around monetary policy normalisation, rising page 1 of 8 financial market volatility, threats of escalating trade conflicts, and rising geopolitical tensions. in many ways, the period since our last cocktail function to now has been one of transition ; from markets being very complacent about risks, to the current environment in which risk - sensitivity levels appear to be rising again, even against still relatively overall supportive financial conditions. the initial period was characterised by volatility being subdued across a broad range of asset classes, in certain instances with indicators touching record lows. while us interest rate futures increased to reflect expectations that the fed would hike interest rates, and also appeared to factor - in that the us treasury would issue more short - term debt, the anticipated pace of such interest rates increases was expected to follow a relatively slow and gradual profile. the other major economies were seen to be still somewhat behind the us with regard to changes to their monetary policy settings. one puzzling issue for the markets had been the