During 2014, the Romanian capital market engaged in achieving the MSCI standard of emerging market and has committed to removing existing barriers by 2017.

Through the efforts of market participants and especially of the Financial Supervision Authority, which approved the Steam project (Set of actions towards establishing and acknowledgment of the emerging market status), a number of objectives have been achieved.

These include separation of the trading and post-trading systems; the abolition of the obligation to appoint a fiscal representative for certain non-resident categories; the reduction of some market taxes and tariffs; definition in local legislation of exdate, payment date and payment agent; and elimination of some of the listing provisions of the Bucharest Stock Exchange Rulebook.

“This year, local authorities intend to continue the process of listing state companies through IPOs and to support the development of the local capital market,” says Victor Popescu, manager of post-trading services and custody division at the securities services division of Bancpost.

Other changes to sub-custody arrangements over the last 12 months include extension of trading hours, add Claudia Ionescu, director BRD Societe Generale securities division for Romania and Bogdan Ploscaru, deputy director.