Octavian Armașu said that as the governor of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM), he is ready to go to Parliament to explain the monetary policy decisions as often as necessary. “I assumed responsibility as governor of the central bank and will do my best to fulfill my duties with professionalism and with civic engagement. The law clearly stipulates the conditions in which the governor can be dismissed,” Octavian Armașu stated in an interview for the press that is quoted by IPN.
“The National Bank pursues a monetary policy that is as transparent as possible. That’s why we are honest with society and openly speak about what the NBM does, including about analyses, forecasts and the applied instruments,” said the governor, noting the goal of the central bank is to reduce inflation to the target of 5%.
According to him, the monetary policy instruments will not work if the market participants do not have confidence in the way in which these are applied and in the Bank’s strategy for achieving the objective set by law. That’s why the NBM explains its strategy to the public. Using the monetary policy instruments, the National Bank aims to ensure the economy swifter overcomes the shocks and returns to equilibrium, which is the inflation target of 5%.
“The NBM looks at things from a long-term perspective. The government set objectives for much shorter periods of time and the fact that differing opinions appear is something normal. The problem is that these differences in opinions start to be exploited from political viewpoint and messages are disseminated in the public sphere, which cause discord between institutions – the central bank and the Government. I want to note once again that the NBM pleads for close cooperation between the state institutions, respectively the Government and the NBM, and ensures this cooperation that is stipulated by law. We also ensure the NBM is not influenced from outside when it takes decision, keeping its independence,” stated Octavian Armașu.
As to his eventual leaving of the system, Octavian Armașu said that the law defines the conditions in which the governor can be dismissed and these rules were set down for such situations as the current one. The National Bank, the Executive Board of the NBM, not only the governor, should have the freedom to take professional decisions, being impartial and protected from political pressure. This way the lawmaker set protection mechanisms that would ultimately ensure the country’s financial stability.
