Moldova may abolish in 2024 the rule requiring the National Bank's authorization to hold more than 1% of bank shares.
This was stated by Anca Dragu, Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, in an interview with Reuters. According to her, the said rule is temporary but may be abolished this year as the country seeks to expand capital markets. The rule on requiring central bank authorization to hold a stake in a bank above 1 percent was introduced as a temporary measure to increase transparency and improve governance following the theft of $1 billion from the country's banking system in 2014-15 in a major fraud. "This is a tough, restrictive measure that is temporary until the central bank creates tools to ensure the integrity of the banking system," Anca Dragu told Reuters. "I think we have every reason to believe that this measure has worked and its temporary period is expiring," she said. Anca Dragu said the NBM was working with experts from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Monetary Fund on legislation that would allow it to remove unfriendly shareholders from the market. She emphasized that the abolition of the 1% restrictive rule will help the planned initial public offering on the Bucharest Stock Exchange of the country's largest bank - maib. //28.03.2024 - InfoMarket.
