Stock market was not manipulated following minister Misa statements on dismantling of Pillar II

The stock market was not manipulated after the statements of Minister of Finance Ionut Misa on the dismantling of the Pillar II, an analysis by the Financial Surveillance Authority (ASF) shows.

The ASF made an analysis after Finance Minister Ionut Misa said the Pillar II will be dismantled, a statement that was later denied by both PM Mihai Tudose and Social Democratic Party (PSD) head Liviu Dragnea. The analysis revealed that the conditions imposed by the legal framework for the existence of a market manipulation act by means of the dissemination of false of misleading information as defined by Law no. 24/2017 on issued of financial instruments and market operations, the ASF informed on Wednesday.

The analysis was conducted by ASF’s Financial Instruments and Investments Sector starting 30 June.

On 29 June, after his hearing in the Parliament’s budget-finance committees, Minister Misa said the government would abolish the Pillar II of the pensions.

“The second pillar, yes, will be abolished. The money will go back to those who have contributed to the pension pillar, with the option to opt for the social security budget or for the private Pillar III. In practice they will pick between having the state manage their money and give them a pension at the end of the contribution period or to have a private actor do this. Pillar II is basically a mix between state and private. All those who have contributed will also be those who will receive the money back,” Misa said.

According to Misa, the Pillar II attracted so far RON 40 billion.

On the day Minister Misa made the statements, the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) fell by more than 2 percent, with the index of the 10 energy and utility companies BET-NG being most affected, with a recorded 4.89 percent drop.

The BET benchmark, showing the evolution of the 12 most liquid stocks, recorded a 3.83 percen drop, and the BET-Plus index, showing the evolution of the most liquid 37 shares on the BSE, fell by 3.69 percent . The BET-FI index of the SIFs recorded, at closing, a depreciation of 2.39 percent.

The BET-XT expanded BET-XT index of the 25 most liquid stocks fell by 3.69 percent and the BET-BK index, the yield index of the investment funds, dropped by 3.59 percent.