Mugur Isărescu: Enhancing the role of governance in international business Address by Mr Mugur Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania, at the 37th EIBA Annual Conference, Palace of Parliament, Bucharest, 8 December 2011. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, Distinguished audience, It is an honour and, at the same time, a great pleasure to address the 37th edition of the Annual Conference of the European Academy of International Business. Allow me to join the organisers in addressing all participants a warm welcome. I am delighted that Bucharest is hosting today such a momentous event attended by so many guests from among world-famous professionals. I am also glad to welcome you this evening to the reception offered by the National Bank of Romania. Throughout its 131 years of existence, the NBR, established in 1880 as the 16th central bank in the world, has constantly supported and developed strong ties with the academic community, hosting numerous conferences, encouraging debates and building partnerships aimed at enhancing financial education. In this context, we are happy to contribute these days to the annual gathering of your organisation. Today’s theme – governance – is quite a vast topic, and was clearly brought to the spotlight by the recent global economic and financial crisis. When talking about governance, one cannot ignore the times we live and the major economic and financial uncertainties we all are grappling with.
That regional network has grown out of the Bank’s branches that were established in 1826 to deal with problems caused by the failure of local banknote-issuing banks. (The nearest branch to North Wales would have been in Liverpool, and like several of the sixteen branches which the Bank opened at that time it was located on land previously occupied by licensed premises - the old Queen’s Arms in Castle Street. Indeed the guiding principle seems to have been “If it works as a pub it will work as a bank”. The Licensed Victuallers Association has taken its revenge in recent decades, as old banks have been turned into pubs). Within the branches, the Bank appointed an Agent to liaise with local industry and commerce, and since 1930 they have been sending regular reports on their economies to Threadneedle Street. During the 1980s and 1990s, most of the branches were closed as different schemes for guaranteeing the supply of bank notes were established. But the Agents remained, and the network was extended to its current line-up of twelve - including a new Welsh Agency located in Cardiff, now run by Adrian Piper. Between them, the Agents are in regular contact with some 8000 firms. This provides the basis for the Agents’ monthly reports and presentations to the MPC; the Committee also commissions special surveys and asks for Agents’ help in understanding puzzles in the data. This information is currently published in summary form each quarter, alongside the Inflation Report.