NBR sees 1.9bn-euro operating losses

The National Bank closed 2006 with operating losses worth 6.6 billion RON (1.9 billion euros), twice as much as in 2005, according to statistics released. "Weere still seeing losses, but we have been making profit each month since September last year, and this profit is increasing," says the governor of the NBR (National Bank of Romania), Mugur Isarescu. According to the data published by the NBR in the first quarter of last year, the operating losses of the central bank stagnated at 3.1 - 3.2 billion RON, then dropped to 2.7-2.8 billion in the next two quarters only to double all of a sudden to 6.619 billion RON in December. Until December, the central bank applied a policy of complete purging of excess liquidity on the monetary market, having increased the monetary policy rate at the end of June to 8.75%. On the other hand, the NBR lessened the costs of purging by increasing the rate of minimum compulsory reserves, first of those in foreign currency and then of those in RON.