How 10 banks allegedly manipulated ROBOR value. Competition Council President: 'Problems will be resolved when we enter the Eurozone'

Romania's Competition Council has fined 10 banks a total of 3.73 billion lei (about 710 million euros) for manipulating the ROBOR interbank lending rate. The council found that these financial institutions coordinated their quotes during the fixing process, exchanging confidential information to influence the benchmark rate used for various loans.

Bogdan Chirițoiu, president of the Competition Council, explained in an interview that a vulnerability in the IT system used for setting ROBOR, combined with a lack of liquidity in the Romanian money market, created the conditions for this coordination. He noted that the problem could be fixed with a relatively simple modification to the application, preventing participants from seeing competitors' real-time quotes.

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Yes. This case is not unique. There were problems in other European countries, there were problems in the USA too. The legislation has improved both there and here. Unfortunately, these practices have continued here. I repeat. The legal framework is OK, I don't see why the market cannot continue to function well.

Chirițoiu emphasized that the sanctions do not threaten the stability of the Romanian banking system. He also highlighted that the IRCC index, which is based on actual market transactions, is much less exposed to manipulation risks compared to ROBOR. The council president suggested that the problems with ROBOR manipulation will be fully resolved once Romania adopts the Euro.

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I repeat, banking regulations are the responsibility of the BNR. As much as I can comment, I can, these are...