The National Bank of Romania (NBR), set up in 1880, is, from a chronological perspective, the sixteenth-central bank in the world.

The National Bank of Romania, an independent, public institution, has the exclusive right to issue currency, being the sole institution vested with the power to issue legal tender in the form of notes and coins tobe used as means of payment on the territory of Romania. The NBR supports the general economic policy of the Government without prejudice to its primary objective which is providing and maintaining price stability.

According to the NBR statute, its main duties are:

1. to design and implement the monetary policy and the exchange rate policy;
2. to conduct the authorisation, regulation and prudential supervision of credit institutions, and
3. to promote and oversee the smooth operation of the payment systems with a view to ensuring financial stability;
4. to issue banknotes and coins as legal tender to be used on the territory of Romania;
5. to manage Romania’s international reserves.