Prime Minister Iurie Leanca met representatives of the Moldovan commercial banks today. Attending the meeting were economics, finance, agriculture and food industry ministers, as well as the leadership of the National Bank of Moldova and Moldovan Banks Association. Leanca highlighted that the government wanted to have a constructive dialogue with the representatives of the banking system.

„The banks are an extremely important element not only of the Moldovan economy and financial system, but also of the functioning of the state in whole. For us, both representatives of the business environment and those involved in the banking system of Moldova are equal dialogue and interaction partners,” Leanca said.

The sides exchanged views about the amendments operated to the legal framework of the financial sector. In general, the participants discussed the provisions meant to increase transparency and safety of the banking system, as well as the package of laws on justice reform, for which the government took the responsibility this week. They also approached issues referring to the latest trends in the financial and banking system, being underlined its role in developing the national economy, as well as actions that are to be taken by the state’s institutions, in cooperation with the financial ones, in order to diminish the negative impact of the restrictions to export of Moldovan products to the Russian market.

„The effects of the sanctions imposed by Russia do not create major risks for the main macroeconomic indicators. In the next five months, over 250 million dollars –from the European Union, World Bank, via a string of other investment projects, are to come into Moldova’s economy. As a result, the pressure on the Moldovan currency (leu) will decrease and we have already noticed elements of appreciation of leu in comparison with the main international currencies,” Leanca said.

For their part, the representatives of the banking system showed their openness to cooperate and willingness to back the state’s efforts, in order to redress the situation in which the business people got, as a result of the sanctions imposed by Russia. At the same time, they spoke out for an active dialogue during the process of improving the legal framework, which regulated the activity in the financial sector.