PLATFORM FOR DISCUSSION Speaking note  SPEAKER:  Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, Governor  DATE:  5-7 September 2018  LOCATION:  Vienna, Austria  NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA info@nbrm.mk www.nbrm.mk   INVESTMENT AND FINANCE, CHALLENGES FOR THE CESEE REGION This Speaking note was prepared for the EUROFI Financial Forum, 2018, organised in association with the Austrian EU Council Presidency  Contributors to the note: Ana Mitreska, Biljana Jovanovikj, Tanja Jakimova and Neda Popovska Kamnar Department: Monetary Policy and Research  1  Investment and Finance, Challenges for the CESEE Region  1. Investment in CESEE – historical perspective and recent developments The investment in spurring growth and supporting productivity and efficiency of an economy is a well-known principle. The larger the investments, the higher the potential to grow. Yet, the investment function is dependent on many factors such as expectations of investors, the already existing capital stock, the general business environment, the level of demand, technological progress, the possibility to invent and innovate, the leverage level, and the access to finance. Before the outburst of the global crisis, investment was an important growth driver in the CESEE region, though the growth was not sufficient to provide for stronger capital accumulation. Notwithstanding the heterogeneity among countries, prior to the crisis, investment was an important contributor to the overall growth, supported by large capital inflows, which propelled the productivity of the economies, as well.
As they stand, the current technical proposals put forward for consultation by the Basel Committee do not respect this commitment: they must therefore be revisited. Second, we should be careful not to oversimplify the regulatory framework and loose the risk sensitivity. Adjustments to the internal models approach should not amount to imposing the standard approach on all, either explicitly, or implicitly by applying poorly calibrated “output floors”. *** Let me conclude with some words on the strengths of the Paris financial centre itself: robust banks and insurance companies, a dynamic asset management industry, strong financial market infrastructures, a highly skilled labour force. And you can be assured of three points: 1. First, French authorities, including the Banque de France, attach utmost importance to making sure Paris is one of Europe’s strongest financial centres. This is crucial for employment, for investment, as well as for the strength of the euro area economy as a whole. 2. In addition, we are already making every effort to build an innovation ecosystem: through the recent and efficient ACPR-AMF cooperation on FinTechs; through our support for the development of new tools – such as ESNI on securitization and Euro GC+ on repos, or our upcoming project to test interbanking information sharing processes based on blockchain technology; and also through our partnerships with many French universities renowned for their excellence and their Masters in Finance. 3.