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The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) is the stock exchange located in Bucharest, Romania. In 2013, the main index BET went up by 26.1%, placing BVB as the 14th best performing stock exchange globally. Since August 2013, Ludwik Sobolewski is the CEO of BVB.

Beginnings of the history of the Bucharest Stock Exchange can be traced back to 1839, when the commodities-trade exchanges were established in Bucharest. It was nevertheless only until December 1st, 1882 that the BVB was officially inaugurated. One week later, the first exchange rates begun being published in the Official Gazette. Throughout its existence, the activities of the Bucharest Stock Exchange were affected by the socio-political events of the time, such as the Romanian Uprising of 1907 or the Balkan Wars that took place between 1912 and 1913. The stock exchange was moreover closed during the First World War. When BVB re-opened following the end of the war, it went through a period of 7 years of significant growth, followed by a period of 7 years of accelerated loss. The activity of the Market for Effects, Actions and Exchange was stopped in 1948, with the establishment of the Communist regime in Romania and the beginning of the nationalization process. At that time, shares issued by 93 companies and 77 fixed-income instruments (bond type) were listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The Bucharest Stock Exchange reopened again in 1995, after almost 50 years since it was shut down by the Communist regime. The first trading session was carried out on November 20, 1995. On that date, 905 shares issued by 6 listed companies were traded.

In 2005, BVB absorbed RASDAQ – the over-the-counter electronic stock market. On February 14th, 2008, Erste Bank listed on BVB and became the first international company listed on the regulated market. Subsequently, Bucharest Stock Exchange has experienced a continuous development and is now established as the main stock exchange in Romania. In 2010, Bucharest Stock Exchange listed on its own spot regulated market under the symbol BVB. In 2010, the Alternative trading system was launched by BVB for SMEs and start-up companies wanting to raise capital from the market. At the end of 2014, it was announced that the equities segment of the ATS market will be re-launched under a new name 'AeRO' which stands for Alternative Exchange in Romania. AeRO is scheduled to re-launch on February 25th, 2015 during an official opening of the trading session. AeRO will target early stage companies, to finance their projects, growth stories, increase their visibility and contribute to the development of the business environment.  On December 15th, 2014 BVB has launched a new website, synchronized with all the channels used by BVB, including social media pages.  On March 27, 2015, BVB announced that it was joining the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative making it the 19th stock exchange to join.

The acute adversity of the international financial crisis impact, we believe, lies not in the huge size of the losses it has caused (estimated at over USD 4,000 billion just for the financial system), but in the threat for the credibility of the development capitalist model, based on free market forces. Investor’s confidence in the capability of markets to automatically adjust its dysfunctions has drastically fallen and the rise of unemployment and poverty as consequences of the global crisis could severely damage the political and social framework, particularly in the less developed countries.

The turbulences on the international financial markets arising from the US housing market crisis emerged in July 2007, have turned drastic in the second half of 2008. Despite expectations of an intervention by the Federal Reserves and / or the U.S. government for its rescue, only one week after the nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, two giants of the financial world, at mid-September 2008 the investment bank Lehman Brothers, a reference name on capital markets, has been left to fall into bankruptcy, which has degenerated into the slump of the stock exchanges capitalization indices, all over the world.

The processes of globalization and liberalization of trade and free capital movement have proved to be factors, although we cannot say that they have caused, but at least favored the uncontrolled spread of financial derivatives, including bad mortgages-backed securities, which became “toxic” assets. In the absence of adequate financial transactions control and supervision of global risk monitoring and warning, the protection systems at the national level have failed one after the other, opposing a low resistance to the crisis force of expansion and contamination. The market economy under the current global crisis, has been forced once more (if still necessary!), to show that competitive market forces cannot solve alone the issues of economic sustainability, especially when the problems of the environment, production and consumption, at regional, national and international levels have worsened. For this reason, in many recent international meetings at high level there has been a common desire to find remedies to counter the crisis effects and to reform the national and international financial systems.

During the first quarter of 2009 the gross domestic product of Romania fell by 2.6 percent compared to fourth quarter of 2008 (adjusted data taking into account the seasonal variations) and 6.4 percent compared to first quarter 2008 (data not adjusted). The fourth quarter of 2008 witnessed a reduction of gross domestic product by 3.4 percent over the third quarter. The second quarter of 2009 saw another decline of GDP, by 1.1 percent compared with the previous quarter and by 8.8 percent compared with the same period of 2008. So, according to the technical definition of a recession, i.e. a decline in GDP for two consecutive quarters, Romania has entered recession in 2009. The global crisis has seriously affected in 2009 the industrial sector, whose main branches are under the majority control of foreign capital and subsidiaries of multinational corporations, being more exposed to international markets. In the first seven months of 2009, the industrial production decreased Annales Universities Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 11(2), 2009 616 by 9.6 percent over the same period of last year (see Table 1). On sections, a decline by 10.8 percent has been recorded both in extractive industry and manufacturing. On industry groups, more severe production drop was in intermediate goods (-15.3 percent) and durable consumer goods (-17.4 percent). In the first eight months of 2009, compared with the same period of 2008, the biggest fall in the industrial production was registered in manufacturing of basic metals, manufacture of other nonmetallic mineral products and textiles. Other manufacturing industries in decline were clothes, paper and paper products, chemicals and chemical products, rubber and plastics, petroleum products, furniture. Industries less affected by the crisis and where production has increased during the analyzed period (wood processing, publishing houses, printing and reproduction of recorded media, manufacture of electric equipment), even are not touching essential sectors of the economy, could see a more rapid recover.

Modern Romania emerged within the territories of the ancient Roman province of Dacia, and was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the sovereign Kingdom of Romania. During World War II, Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union, fighting side by side with the Wehrmacht until 1944, then it joined the Allied powers after being occupied by the Red Army forces. During the war, Romania lost several territories, of which Northern Transylvania was regained after the war. Following the war, Romania became a socialist republic and member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition back towards democracy and a capitalist market economy.

During the period of the Austro-Hungarian rule in Transylvania and of Ottoman suzerainty over Wallachia and Moldavia, most Romanians were given few rights in a territory where they formed the majority of the population. Nationalistic themes became principal during the Wallachian uprising of 1821, and the 1848 revolutions in Wallachia and Moldavia. The flag adopted for Wallachia by the revolutionaries was a blue-yellow-red horizontal tricolor (with blue above, in line with the meaning "Liberty, Justice, Fraternity"), while Romanian students in Paris hailed the new government with the same flag "as a symbol of union between Moldavians and Wallachians". The same flag, with the tricolor being mounted vertically, would later be officially adopted as the national flag of Romania.

After the failed 1848 revolutions not all the Great Powers supported the Romanians' expressed desire to officially unite in a single state. But in the aftermath of the Crimean War, the electors in both Moldavia and Wallachia voted in 1859 for the same leader, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, as Domnitor ("ruling prince" in Romanian), and the two principalities became a personal union formally under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Following a coup d'état in 1866, Cuza was exiled and replaced with Prince Carol I of Romania of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. During the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War Romania fought on the Russian side, and in the aftermath, it was recognized as an independent state both by the Ottoman Empire and the Great Powers by the Treaty of San Stefano and the Treaty of Berlin. The new Kingdom of Romania underwent a period of stability and progress until 1914, and also acquired Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria after the Second Balkan War.

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The Leu (RON) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 Bani singular: ban, Romanian pronunciation: (Ban). The word "bani" is also used for "money" in the Romanian language. In 1860, the Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza attempted to create a national romanul ("The Romanian") and the romanat, however the project was not approved by the Ottoman Empire. On April 22, 1867, a bimetallic currency was adopted, with the Leu equal to 5 grams of 83.5% silver or 0.29032 grams of gold. The first Leu coin was minted in Romania in 1870.

Before 1878 the silver Russian ruble was valued so highly as to drive the native coins out of circulation. Consequently, in 1889, Romania unilaterally joined the Latin Monetary Union and adopted a gold standard. Silver coins were legal tender only up to 50 lei. All taxes and customs dues were to be paid in gold and, owing to the small quantities issued from the Romanian mint, foreign gold coins were current, especially French 20-franc pieces (equal at par to 20 lei), Turkish gold lire (22.70), Old Russian imperials (20.60) and British sovereigns (25.22).

Romania left the gold standard in 1914 and the Leu's value fell. A revaluation ("Great stabilization", marea stabilizare) took place on August 15, 1947, replacing the old Leu at a rate of 20,000 old lei = 1 new Leu. No advance warning was given and there were limits for the sums to be converted in the new currency: 5 million old lei for farmers and 3 million old lei for workers and pensioners. Out of the 48.5 billion old lei in circulation, only around half were changed to new lei. The most affected was the middle and upper classes, who were later also affected by the nationalization of 1948. At the time of its introduction, 150 new lei equaled 1 U.S. dollar.

On 1 July 2005, the Leu was revalued at the rate of 10,000 "old" lei (ROL) for one "new" Leu (RON), thus psychologically bringing the purchasing power of the Leu back in line with those of other major Western currencies. The term chosen for the action was "denominare", similar to the English "denomination". The first day brought difficulties adjusting to the new paper currencies and closed ATMs (that needed reprogramming) and forcing a new calculation habit that slowed down shops and annoyed some sales staff and older shoppers. The old ROL currency banknotes remained in circulation until December 31, 2006 (coins remained in circulation only until December 31, 2005), but all accounts have been converted starting July 1, 2005. There is no conversion time limit between the currencies. Retailers had to display prices in both old and new currency from March 1, 2005 until June 30, 2006. The appreciation of the Leu during 2005 was about 20% against a basket of major currencies.As of 2006, the revaluation was a potential source of confusion, especially to visitors, since both old and new currency values were commonly quoted. When written, the very large amounts in old currency are usually obvious, but in speaking inhabitants might refer to an amount of 5 new lei as simply "fifty" in reference to its value of 50,000 old lei. In 2014, Romania's Convergence Report set a target date of 1 January 2019 for euro adoption. As of April 2014, Romania meets 4 out of the 7 criteria. However, as of September 2015, the earliest feasible date for euro adoption in Romania is 2020, according to Romania's central bank governor Mugur Isarescu.

In 1867, copper 1, 2, 5 and 10 bani were issued, with gold 20 lei (known as poli after the French Napoleons) first minted the next year. These were followed, between 1870 and 1873, by silver 50 bani, 1 and 2 lei. Silver 5 lei were added in 1880. Uniquely, the 1867 issue used the spelling 1 banu rather than 1 ban. In 1900, cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 bani coins were introduced, with holed versions following in 1905. The production of coins ceased in 1914, recommencing in 1921 with aluminum 25 and 50 bani pieces. Cupro-nickel 1 and 2 lei coins were introduced in 1924, followed by nickel brass 5, 10 and 20 lei in 1930. In 1932, silver 100 lei coins were issued. However, inflation meant that in 1935, smaller silver 250 lei coins were introduced with nickel 100 lei coins being issued in 1936, followed by nickel 50 lei in 1937. In 1941 and 1942, zinc 2, 5 and 20 lei coins were introduced, together with silver 200 and 500 lei. Nickel-clad-steel 100 lei followed in 1943, with brass 200 and 500 lei issued in 1945. In 1946 and 1947, postwar inflation brought the exchange rate even lower, and a new coinage was issued consisting of aluminum 500 lei, brass 2000 and 10,000 lei, and silver 25,000 and 100,000 lei. Coins were first issued in 1952 in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, and 50 bani, with aluminum bronze for 1, 3, and 5 bani, and cupro-nickel for 10, 25, and 50 bani. These coins featured the state arms and name "Republica Populara Româna." In 1991, a new coin series with post-communist iconography and new valuations was released in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 lei. These coins gradually lost value with inflation, and a new series was introduced in 1998 with an aluminum-magnesium alloy 500 lei and 1,000 & 5,000 lei coins in 2000.

In 1877, state notes were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 lei. In 1880, these notes were over stamped for issue by the Banca Na?ional? a României, which began to issue regular notes in 1881 in denominations of 20, 100 and 1000 lei. In 1914, 5 lei notes were reintroduced, followed by 1 and 2 lei notes in 1915 and 500 lei in 1916. The Ministry of Finance issued very small sized notes for 10, 25 and 50 bani in 1917. 500 lei notes were introduced in 1940, followed by 10,000 and 100,000 lei in 1945 and 1 and 5 million lei in 1947. In 1945, the Ministry of Finance issued 20 and 100 lei notes to replace those of the National Banks. In 1947, the Ministry of Finance introduced 20 lei notes and Banca Na?ional? a României introduced 100, 500 and 1000 lei notes. In 1949, Banca Republicii Populare Române took over the production of paper money and issued 500 and 1000 lei notes. In 1991, 500 and 1000 lei notes were introduced, followed by 200 and 5000 lei notes in 1992, 10,000 lei in 1994, 50,000 lei in 1996, 100,000 lei in 1998, 500,000 lei in 2000 and 1 million lei in 2003. There was also a 2,000 lei note introduced in 1999; it celebrated the total solar eclipse that occurred on August 11, 1999. The final issues of the 2000, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, 500,000 and 1 million lei were polymer notes.