THE SOUNDNESS OF THE FINANCIALSYSTEMS IN CEE COUNTRIES

The financial system is vitally important for the real economy, contributing decisively to economic activities. The paper aims to examine the features of the financial system of Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania), the major imbalances accumulated during the period preceding the onset of the current global economic crisis and the measures taken by monetary and financial authorities to ensure the continuity of European financial integration. Moreover, in this paper an empirical analysis was developed, investigating the major implications of the crisis on the financial soundness indicators perceived in the selected countries, in the period 2008-2013. The analysis conducted in this paper suggests that the financial system is characterized by a high sensitivity, being subjected to pressures from the international financial turmoil, observing the increasing tendency of current risks