Official reserve assets exceed pre-crisis level, reach new historical record In Moldova

Chisinau, 26 January /MOLDPRES/ - The official reserve assets have exceeded the pre-crisis level and reached a new historical record of 2 billion 863.9 million dollars, according to data issued by the National Bank of Moldova (BNM) today on the currency reserves according to the situation from 19 January. Since early 2018, the currency reserves have increased by 60 million dollars.

The previous record of 2.827 billion dollars was reached on 14 December 2013 and dropped to 2.68 billion dollars at the beginning of the banking crisis; yet, after the emergency loans provided by the Central Bank, under the government’s guarantee, to the three problem banks (Banca de Economii (Savings Bank), Banca Sociala (Social Bank) and Unibank), the reserved decreased by about one billion dollars in October 2015, going down to the lowest threshold, respectively 1.74 billion dollars.   

Contacted by MOLDPRES, the programme manager of the Expert-Grup Independent Analytical Centre, Sergiu Gaibu, said that, following two years of recession, remittances had started increasing and the foreign financing was unlocked; as a result, foreign currency beyond needs entered Moldova. And even if the monetary policy of the National Bank is aimed at ensuring the stability of prices and not of the currency market, the Bank intervened on market with procurements in conditions of an excess of currency, in order not to allow the decrease in the Moldovan leu’s exchange rate.   

After the stabilization of the national currency’s exchange rate, but especially following its decrease, beginning of the improvement of the banking system and re-establishment of the relations with the International Monetary Fund, entrance of foreign loans on accounts of the Finance Ministry, the National Bank managed to gradually recover the positions lost. BNM intervenes on the domestic currency market only as buyer of foreign currency, in the conditions when the exchange rate Moldovan leu-U.S. dollar continued dropping during the last year and the beginning of 2018. National Bank’s data shows that the official reserve assets grew by 598 million dollars in 2017, against an increase of 470 million dollars in 2016.  

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor L. Alcaza)