The Romanian Financial Supervision Authority (ASF) plans to reduce management positions by 35 percent. The new organization chart will come into force starting October 1, 2014. It will have fewer department chiefs subordinated to ASF’s vice presidents and fewer deputy directors. Consumer protection directions will also be merged. The new architecture of the ASF was approved on May 30 by the institution’s board.

“The new organization chart, which will become operational on October 1, aims to transform the authority into a more flexible and efficient institution. It will reduce the chain of command from vice levels to three and will eliminate intermediary management positions. Management positions will hence be reduced by 35 percent,” according to ASF.

ASF’s new president, former banker Misu Negritoiu, who began his mandate May 1, 2014, announced his intention to reform the institution and to reduce personnel costs. ASF, which was set up April 30, 2013, replaced the former regulatory and supervisory commissions for insurance, capital markets and private pensions. It was supposed to reduce supervisory costs and improve efficiency, but that didn’t happen in ASF’s first year of existence. Furthermore, the institution was involved in many scandals, mainly regarding the supervision of the insurance sector, which led to the arrest of its former president, Dan Radu Rusanu.

ASF announced that in addition to the new organization chart, salaries will also be adjusted according to their new responsibilities. “I expect that by the end of this year the new ASF structure to work in full. Change is not simple not is it as fast as we would wish. The new organization chart, which is based on functionality, is critical to get from the passive position we have today, or market controller, to an active one, of financial market developer,” Misu Negritoiu said.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com