PM Viorica Dancila’s economic advisor, Darius Valcov, said in an interview with Antena 3 on Sunday night that he wants the National Bank of Romania’s new leadership team to be “patriotic”, suggesting that BNR governor Mugur Isarescu would end his tenure once his current term expires later this year.
Valcov also noted that the central bank’s portfolio is worth EUR 36 billion. “If Romania wanted to borrow EUR 36 billion today, we’d pay EUR 1 billion per year. The BNR is managing these portfolios and gets a loss of EUR 80 million in 2017. That’s the situation in Romania when some think they’re smart and that they’re going to have a position for life,” he said, referencing the end of Isarescu’s term in May 2019.
“I wholeheartedly hope that the new team that leads the BNR will be made up of patriots. Otherwise, Romania won’t be able to take its head out of the mud,” Valcov said.