From time to time questions arise as to why we keep gold or some gold in Moscow…sorry, London! We don’t keep it in Moscow, they keep it there for us…!”, the head of the National Bank of Romania said on Tuesday at the debate “The role of central banks in modern economies: beyond price stability”

Although Keynes once called it a “barbaric relic of mankind,” gold permeated public opinion and debate.

“That is, you go 3,000 meters deep, from where it is very difficult to get it, you bring it to the surface and then put it back in the ground, in the treasury of the Central Bank. And for what? Keynes says this for credibility. But, he continues, couldn’t we gain confidence in the central bank, confidence in the currency in other ways? Hence the theory about the need to strengthen institutions, central banks, and their independence. And then we wouldn’t need gold for that

Iserescu also spoke about the need for constant institutional communication with the Government and avoiding staying in the ivory tower.

“A central banker cannot afford to isolate himself in an ivory tower. And here there is an important transformation compared to the 90s, some believed that it was not good to talk to the Government. Let’s stand aside and see each other from our independence. Practically, I have never accepted this, dialogue with the authorities is not submission, but on the contrary, principled!

The validity of arguments and the clarity of approaches are important components of a professional and coherent discussion. I cannot help but quote Professor Costin Murgescu, who said and repeated every time that debate is the economist’s laboratory. We don’t have another laboratory to conduct experiments!” Iserescu said