Ladies and gentlemen, In Romania, the initial economic impact of the pandemic was strong, compounding the existing imbalances and the depreciation pressures on the domestic currency and entailing higher liquidity needs. Consequently, the immediate objective of our central bank was to maintain banking system stability and liquidity, for the proper functioning of public finances and the real 2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  economy; at the same time, the dosage of measures sought to avoid an excessive and unnecessary depreciation of the leu. Over a broader horizon, our aim was to preserve confidence that economic and financial equilibria are kept under control. In this vein and in full compliance with its mandate and statutory independence, the NBR promptly adopted a package of proportionate and effective measures to support the Romanian economy. Given the exceptional nature of the pandemic, the NBR cooperated more closely with the Government of Romania, particularly with the Ministry of Finance, to avoid any conflict between monetary, macroprudential and fiscal measures.
Jean-Pierre Roth: Real estate crisis in the United States – similar risks in Switzerland? Summary of a speech by Mr Jean-Pierre Roth, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, at the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Lausanne, 9 June 2008. The complete speech can be found in French on the Swiss National Bank’s website (www.snb.ch). *  *  *  In the past few months, developments in the mortgage and real estate markets have attracted increasing attention. Europe, and Switzerland in particular, have been indirectly affected as a result of commercial bank activities in US mortgage markets. Over the past few quarters, the European real estate market has also been affected, with a number of countries experiencing a downturn in prices similar to that in the United States. By contrast, other countries, such as Switzerland, have seen real estate prices rising at a steady pace. In some respects, what the United States went through is a classical property crisis of the type that Switzerland experienced in the early 1990s. However, the US real estate crisis spilled over to encompass the international financial markets, endangering their stability and prompting the intervention of several central banks. These events confirm the importance of sound real estate market developments for the economy. It is important to recognise that the Swiss mortgage and real estate markets are very different from their US counterparts.