Mention should be made that banks showed caution in managing CHF-denominated assets and liabilities. III. The current economic environment  The analysis of the current economic environment reveals two significant characteristics. First, Romania has maintained sustainable macroeconomic balances over the last years, also as a result of the counter-cyclical monetary and prudential policies implemented by the National Bank of Romania. Romania further enjoys robust economic growth and solid growth prospects, of 2.7% in 2015 and 2.9% in 2016. The annual inflation rate has remained on a  4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  downward path, while the general government balance and the current account balance stand at sustainable levels. These arguments show that the movements in the CHF/RON exchange rate should not be seen as a depreciation of the domestic currency (which is supported by strong economic fundamentals), but as CHF appreciation following the Swiss National Bank’s decision. Second, the downtrend in interest rates on leu-denominated loans, also as a result of the NBR’s decisions to gradually cut the monetary policy rate and to pursue adequate liquidity management, is supportive of the solution of converting foreign currency-denominated loans into the domestic currency in the case of currently unhedged borrowers.
In the identification of its policy orientation, the ECB bears in mind that an inflation rate too close to zero restrains the conduct of policy in deep recessions and it also filters out a host of factors that distort the measurement of the policy-relevant drift in prices. 3 Third, the strategy describes and structures a host of economic and monetary variables which can signal risks to price stability before they materialise. This set includes important monetary and financial variables which influence the way monetary policy intentions are transmitted to price-setting decisions in the medium term. As I said, the strategy turns the Treaty assignment into an action plan which, if I may borrow from performance management jargon, I would call S.M.A.R.T. — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Let me focus on the “M” and “A”. The action plan is measurable, and we can assess the ECB’s progress towards that goal by looking at its record. Prices since the start of the euro have indeed been stable and in line with our definition. The average inflation rate over the past 13 years has been slightly higher than 2%. 4 The goal was attainable and it was attained. Monetary policy and lack of trust in the integrity of the euro area Over the summer the price of bonds issued by some governments in the euro area fell on concerns that investors’ claims could be discharged by the issuer in a currency other than the euro, the currency of denomination.