ARHIVELE OLTENIEI - Universitatea din Craiova

THE ROMANIAN NATIONAL BANKAFTER NATIONALIZATION.THE MONETARY REFORM FROM 1947GEORGETA GHIONEA, LOREDANA ILINAt the end of XIX the century there were built the first loan institutionsof a modern banking system, which was in full construction. In the communistperiod only a part from the buildings specially built as bank offices succeeded tokeep their initial destination. After 1989 some got financial profile and othersbecame simple shops.Beside the old buildings with remarkable architecture as the Palace ofRomanian National Bank, the Palace of Romanian General Bank, Stock Palace hadappeared new buildings of whose exteriors had high profiles, walls of glass,automatic doors, sound surrounding, opened spaces, modern equipment andfurniture, qualified staff. The common feature of the banks wasn’t the aspect ofbuildings but the money, a transmissible and an omnivalent personification of thepurchasing power and the operations, which they accomplished, grounded on them.In the centre of the banking system of every state there is a central bankand in the case of Romanian state, this is The Romanian National Bank. Itappeared through the law from the April 17/29 1880, The Law for setting up of abank of discount and circulation 1 , being as a date of foundation one of the latestinstitutes of European emission. The bank cumulated two functions: the uniquebank of emission and the commercial central bank while the organizing andadministration system was inspired by the Belgium Bank 2 . The Bank’s activitydeveloped in the central residence from Bucharest, but also into the openedbranches in the country: Braila, Craiova, Galati, Iasi 3 . The Romanian NationalBank supported with its capital the foundation of some credit institutionsdestegned to help the development of the national economy. Thus, appeared TheNational Society of Industrial Credit (1923), through which The National Banksupported the investments from industry, such as The Houses of agriculturalcredit (1881), The Agricultural Credit (1893) and the Bank for industrializationand capitalization of farming products (1937), through which was financed the1 Mihail Gh. Romaşcanu, Eugeniu Carada (1836-1910), Bucureşti, 1937, p. 222.2 C. I. Băicoianu, Istoria politicei noastre monetare şi a Băncii Naţionale 1880-1914,vol. II, partea I, Bucureşti, 1932, p. 129.3 Ibidem.ARHIVELE OLTENIEI, Serie nouă, nr. 21, 2007, p. 87–92