Deputies promise higher SIF cap by Christmas

Romanian deputies say the draft law on increasing the stake cap will be debated in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies by the end of the current parliamentary session, after no progress has been made since the beginning of this year.

Since March, the draft law to increase the stake cap from 1% to 5% of SIF’s (Financial Investment Companies) capital got stuck at the Budget-Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The committee needs to put together the final report based on which deputies will vote the modification of the capital market law and on raising the stake cap for SIF in a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies.
In the spring of this year the deputies explained the delay in debating the draft law citing ongoing talks with the leading players on the capital market on adding new amendments, and saying they were expecting a new point of view from the Government, but things are unchanged after the two months of parliamentary holiday.
In the meantime, the Government has been reshuffled, the Stock Exchange is waiting for its new general manager to be approved, and the National Securities Commission is awaiting Parliament’s approval for its second vice-president, a position left vacant after the term of Paul Miclăuș (endorsed by PNL – National Liberal Party) expired.
“We are awaiting a new point of view from the Government considering that last year the Government rejected the elimination of the SIF cap, but last year’s draft did not target an increase to 5%, it targeted the elimination of the cap. We are hoping the Chamber of Deputies will make a decision on the SIF cap in its plenary session by the end of this parliamentary session,” said Adrian Nițu, secretary of the Committee for Budget, Finance, and Banks.