A public well-informed about the role and functions of the central bank, who understands the rationale and economic data underlying the NBR’s decisions, is an important factor for attaining the primary objective of the NBR, i.e. to ensure and maintain price stability.
Realising the importance of institutional transparency and accountability, the NBR provides the public, on a permanent basis, with detailed information, statistical data and explanations regarding the activity of the central bank and that of the banking system, as well as analysis regarding domestic and international macroeconomic and financial developments.
The key instrument in assuming institutional accountability is the NBR’s submitting to the Parliament of Romania by 30 June of each year the activity report for the previous year, a document accompanied by financial statements and the audit report. The NBR also publishes a quarterly Inflation Report and a half-yearly Financial Stability Report, which are presented in press conferences and sent to several public institutions.
The NBR has, over time, broadened its means of communication, tailored to various types of audiences, via:
The central bank is a major provider of economic information. More than 4,000 statistical indicators are published on the National Bank of Romania’s website (www.bnr.ro) to allow interested specialists to prepare complex research studies. Financial market indicators are released in daily series (interest rates, exchange rates, government bond yields), but most statistical domains are available as monthly series: monetary, credit, and banking indicators, the balance of payments, international reserves etc.
The developments in statistical indicators are analysed in detail in the Monthly Bulletins, (quarterly) Inflation Reports, (half-yearly) Financial Stability Reports, and the Annual Report. Certain areas are treated separately in dedicated publications: Romania’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Foreign Direct Investment in Romania, Financial Accounts etc.
The National Bank of Romania is fully integrated into the European System of Central Banks, is a founder member of the Bank for International Settlements and subscribed, in 2005, to the Special Data Dissemination Standard set by the IMF, in keeping with the international regulations, recommendations and good practice regarding statistical data quality and information transparency.
New social media communication channels have increasingly been used by the central bank not only to inform the public at large in real time about the central bank’s decisions, activities and initiatives, but also to allow feedback from the public through direct interaction between the institution and the user. The NBR is present on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and on its own blog OpiniiBNR.ro, where central bank professionals may give their own opinions on topical issues in the economic and financial field.