Isarescu: More conservative approach to reserve management

Mugur Isarescu, Governor of the NBR (National Bank of Romania) says the National Bank has, since last autumn, become much more conservative in the management of the foreign exchange reserve, placing higher sums in accounts opened at central banks. According to him, the NBR has a prudent policy in terms of managing the reserve. At the end of September foreign reserves reached a new all-time high, at slightly more than 26 billion euros. A very small share of the reserve is placed under the management of an international entity – the World Bank, in order to see whether they can obtain a higher yield than that of the NBR. “As a rule, our team has achieved a higher yield than the World Bank,” Isarescu says. According to the NBR’s audited accounting statements for 2006 (the latest available data), the bulk of the foreign currency reserve was placed in treasury securities issued by European treasuries, as well as in bonds issued by credit institutions and banks.