McGuireWoods has been instrumental in setting up RIBA, in close partnership with the Embassy of Ireland in Bucharest, to promote the attractiveness of Ireland as a business model in Romania and strengthening economic relations between the two countries. Managing Director Nadia Crisan was recently voted on as a member of the RIBA Board, engaging in vital decisions for the association’s future growth and objectives, and Senior Public Affairs Associate Andreea Dobra will serve as RIBA’s spokesperson.
As a result of our McGuireWoods Romania’s active efforts to implement these key objectives since its inception, Nadia was invited to moderate the first RIBA event, which was aimed at providing a comparative outlook on financial and banking priorities in Romania and Ireland.
On October 9, top members of diplomatic, financial, banking and key business communities attended the conference “Romania and Ireland: Recent Experiences in the Banking Sector.” The event was endorsed by the Irish Embassy in Bucharest and hosted by the National Bank of Romania and had highly regarded Aidan Brady, CEO of Citibank Europe as special guest speaker. The Citibank chief executive made a great team together with Bogdan Olteanu, Deputy-Governor of the National Bank of Romania, and Ionuț Dumitru, Chairman of the Fiscal Council in the panel discussion.
“It is essential for our nation to continue building on the strategic ties that bring Romania and Ireland together. We have so much to learn from the Irish experience, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, finance and banking or IT&C. Romania shares strong industry connections with Ireland, in terms of local resources’ potential, growth and talent. And this is reflected in RIBA’s mission statement: promoting and developing Irish-Romanian trade and investment links, as well as enabling know-how exchange and collaboration opportunities between our nations. It is a privilege for McGuireWoods Romania to be part of this initiative and share this vision for successful growth,” said Ms. Crisan her opening speech.
Discussions focused on parallels between the two countries, bringing to light expert views regarding:
- The impact of the banking sector on local economic growth;
- EU industry regulations and Romania’s alignment to the European framework;
- Perspectives on the future of financial services in Romania, Ireland and the EU; and
- Lessons to be learned by Romania on enhancing foreign direct investment levels, consolidating financial markets and creating a transparent and efficient regulatory system.
