The Romanian central bank has developed a new covered bond law and expects this to be approved by the end of the year or at the beginning of 2014, according to an official at National Bank of Romania.

National Bank of Romania, Bucharest

Romania has had covered bond legislation since March 2006, the Mortgage Bonds Law, but no deals have been issued thereunder, and a new framework has been under consideration for a couple of years. (For previous coverage in The Covered Bond Report, see here.)

According to an official at the country’s central bank, a new covered bond law is in the process of approval.

“This new framework will be in line with the best European practices in this field,” she said. “We expect that the law will be published until the end of this year or at the beginning of 2014.”

An official at a Romanian bank said that the covered bond law will be for mortgage backed issuance only, and that it has been developed as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).