Bucharest, April 20 /Agerpres/ - Access to financial products and services is unprecedented, and in this context, financial education becomes not only a useful tool, but an indispensable component of personal and collective economic security, declared on Monday the First Vice President of the Financial Supervisory Authority, Gabriel-Ioan Avramescu, at the Financial Education Forum.

'We live in a period in which access to financial products and services is unprecedented. Digitalization has significantly expanded access, but at the same time has transferred a significant responsibility to each individual. In this context, financial education is becoming not only a useful tool, but an indispensable component of personal and collective economic security. And it is precisely this reality that today brings us face to face with one of the most challenging topics of the moment: crypto-assets and digital finance. It is not a marginal or speculative topic. It is a reality that millions of European citizens, including Romanians, already encounter in their daily lives. And experience shows us that those most exposed to risks are not the completely uninformed, but precisely the partially informed: people who have accumulated enough financial knowledge to take risks, but not enough to truly understand their consequences. The illusion 'The lack of understanding is, in itself, a major risk. And no area illustrates this phenomenon better than that of crypto-assets. Romanians need to understand not only the operating mechanisms of these instruments, but also their structural volatility and the risks associated with unauthorized platforms. Without this deep understanding, the freedom to invest becomes vulnerability,' said Gabriel Avramescu.

He believes that Romania is at a point where it must decide the direction in which it builds its public policies in emerging areas, and one of the most relevant is that of crypto-assets and digital finance.

'It is no longer enough to react to market developments. It is time to clearly answer an essential question: what do we really want? Do we want to be a restrictive, rigid market that keeps initiative and innovation at a distance, or do we want to build a solid framework that attracts serious players, investments, technology and capital? Romania needs a mature public policy in the field of crypto-assets, which simultaneously pursues two essential objectives: investor protection and economic development. In the absence of such a vision, we risk losing important opportunities or, on the contrary, exposing investors to unjustified risks. The Financial Supervisory Authority has a central role in this equation, but this role must be exercised in a framework of real cooperation. It is very important that the entire institutional ecosystem - from central public authorities and the central bank central government, up to regulatory authorities and academia - to function as a coherent mechanism, capable of generating clear, viable and predictable solutions. The Romanian economy needs stability and legislative consistency, built on the long term, not regulations built conjuncturally, from one day to the next, in the logic of 'Procust's Bed', Gabriel Avramescu emphasized.

According to him, recent experience shows us that a coordinated approach is not only desirable, but also achievable. In this context, he showed that the Central Counterpart project, unlocked with the support of the Presidential Administration, the National Bank of Romania and the Government, is a concrete example that when state institutions act together, with a clear vision, results are possible.

He also stated that for the Financial Supervisory Authority, financial education represents a long-term strategic commitment and recalled that over 450,000 pupils, almost 40,000 students, 8,200 teachers, and over 50,000 employees from the private sector have benefited from the educational programs run by the institution.

'Moreover, these efforts have gone beyond the borders of Romania. ASF specialists also hold financial education courses in the Republic of Moldova, where we have also opened a branch of the Institute of Financial Studies, thus contributing to the consolidation of a financial culture at the regional level. At the same time, I must emphasize that, since the current management took office, the Financial Supervisory Authority has gone through a complex stage of transformation, which aimed both at the profound reconfiguration of the institutional activity and at improving the image and public perception of the role and mission of ASF. We have modernized the regulatory framework of non-banking financial markets, strengthened consumer protection and launched a large-scale digitalization process, financed from European funds, worth 20 million euros. This digital transformation represents a strategic investment in ASF's capacity to respond more efficiently to the realities of a markets that are constantly changing. We are building an infrastructure that allows for better-founded decisions, faster processes and direct and transparent interaction with citizens and supervised entities. It is a decisive step towards a more efficient institution, more connected to the market and more aligned with European standards,' said Gabriel Avramescu.AGERPRES (RO - writing by: George Banciulea, editing by: Andreea Marinescu; EN - writing by: Catalin Cristian Trandafir)