Financial Authority's Avramescu: This is a moment of uncertaninty in all areas

The current moment is one of uncertainty, one of tension in all areas, but I think that we can say Fidelis was a success, said Gabriel Avramescu, first vice president of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), on Friday, at the official opening of the trading session of the Bucharest Stock Exchange on the occasion of the listing of Fidelis government securities.

"Now it depends on how we consider a success, but I think that 1.65 billion lei attracted in this edition, especially in the current context, I think we can call it a success as it does confirm a solid course of the programme, especially since since the beginning of the year we have attracted over 10 billion (lei - editor's note) through this programme. Indeed, it is a moment of uncertainty, it is a moment of tension in all areas. We all hope to overcome this situation and the reactions of investors have been noticeable and I think that the first thing we can see is an increasing prudence of investors," said Gabriel Avramescu.

He emphasised that the Fidelis programme is a barometer of trust in the state, and subscribing to this programme is not just a gesture, "it is a signal of trust" that came from both the population and investors.

In his turn, Adrian Tanase, general manager of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, stated that the Fidelis programme has a positive effect on the market, starting with the increase in the number of investors.

"We also have a rather special context now, a context that was not born today, in which we have been living for a few months, we hope it will stabilize, in fact the entire investor community hopes for this," said Adrian Tanase.

Also, Stefan Nanu, general manager of the State Treasury, explained the changes brought to the programme. According to him, the Ministry of Finance wanted to offer different maturities for Fildelis compared to Tezaur. It also came with longer maturities, 2.5 and 7 years at Fidelis, compared to 2.4 and 6 years at Tezaur. Stefan Nanu said the 7-year issue was "interesting for investors."

The Ministry of Finance (MF) attracted 537 million lei and almost 222 million euros, respectively through the fifth primary offer for the sale of government securities to the population (FIDELIS) carried out this year through the systems of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), according to a press release.