Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to the National Bank of Romania. On behalf of the National Bank of Romania’s Board, allow me to welcome Mr. Andrea Enria, Chair of the European Banking Authority, our guest of honour. It has become quite a tradition for us to invite speakers of outstanding quality to address and debate interesting and complex topics. So, it is a privilege to have Mr. Enria tonight to speak about “Financial Integration and Home – Host Trust in the European Union”.
Before I proceed to introduce our guest speaker, I would like to congratulate Mr. Andrea Enria for his recent nomination, by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank as Chair of the Supervisory Board, a position he will assume January 1st, 2019, pending approval by the European Parliament and confirmation by the Council of the European Union. I also wish to commend and point out his remarkable achievements in his current role as the first Chairperson of the European Banking Authority - a position he has held since 2011, while laying the ground rules for this governing establishment.
Mr. Andrea Enria has been an active voice in the European and international fora, contributing to the shaping of the financial stability and supervision of the banking system.
Mr. Enria has an impressive résumé that is witness of his outstanding work in the fields of economics, policies and European finances. His educational background includes a Master’s Degree from the University of Cambridge, and a Bachelor’s Degree, with honours, from Bocconi University in Milan, both in economics.
He began his career as an economist in 1988, at Banca d’Italia and was subsequently promoted, serving and contributing to various functions and departments such as research, competition policy and financial supervision, among others. In these capacities, he was involved in the implementation of Community legislation, in supervisory co-operation and in matters regarding banking supervision and financial stability.
Andrea Enria joined the European Central Bank in 1999 and while there, he became an expert on macro-prudential analysis, then Principal and Secretary in the Banking Supervision Committee (BSC) of the European System of Central Banks and Head of Financial Supervision Department. He contributed extensively to the regulatory and supervisory matters in all sectors of financial activity, accounting issues, and the representation of the ECB in global and EU fora.
I want to applaud his work and diligence as Secretary General of the former Committee of European Banking Supervisors (between 2004 – 2008) - which later became the European Banking Authority - where he committed to shaping better policies, to strengthening the dialogue with the stakeholders of the European economic and financial systems.
Before chairing the European Banking Authority, Mr. Enria worked as Head of the Supervisory Regulations and Policies Department within Banca d’Italia, between 2008 -2011. In this capacity, he was part of the Committee of European Banking Supervisors, Cross-Border Crisis Management Group of the Financial Stability Board, G20 Deputies Group on Regulation and Supervision, conveying important contributions to the financial eco-system.
I also wish to point out Mr. Enria’s research and published scientific papers in European Economics and European Financial and Banking Integration, in order to emphasize his extended experience and holistic view on Europe and the Euro Area financial stability and supervision.
He has written extensively on the approach to the institutional framework related to the financial regulation and supervision, effective instruments in the toolkit of countercyclical measures, the international coordination of the supervisory activity under the Basel framework, the area of completing the single market by supervisory convergence in banking, as well as other topics.
Now, a few considerations about the EBA stress test results:
Earlier this month, The European Banking Authority, chaired by Mr. Enria, has announced the results of the EU-wide stress tests carried out, in cooperation with the European Central Bank, the European Systemic Risk Board, the European Commission and the Competent National Authorities.
The test assessed the resilience of 48 banking groups from 15 countries covering approximately 70% of assets in the European Union. EBA conducted the test regarding the exposure to a common set of adverse economic developments in order to identify potential risks, inform supervisory authorities and increase market discipline.
Progressive reforms improved the European financial environment; however, the need for further strengthening remains. The past ten years since the onset of the financial crisis and the challenges in the Euro zone changed the assumptions behind the Euro zone governance and the links between the European Union’s euro and non-euro member countries.
The National Bank of Romania collaborates closely with the authorities in the European Union in all the aspects regarding the financial stability, to become more resilient in the face of adverse economic conditions. The Romanian banking system has a large share of foreign capital, with investments made by the European banking groups that are under the direct supervision of the European Central Bank, from countries such as Austria, France, Italy and Greece.
I will take no more of your time and I will invite Mr. Andreea Enria to take the floor and present his considerations on “Financial Integration and Home – Host Trust in the European Union”.
Thank you.
Banca Națională a României, sala Mitiță Constantinescu
București, 14 noiembrie 2018