In the context of the economic uncertainty generated at the national level and caused not only by the COVID-19 pandemic, for a healthy evolution of business relations in the competitive environment, for resilience and survival in this context of the pandemic and efforts to counteract possible financial losses, optimal risk management plays a key role in the banking system to avoid excessive exposure with a negative impact on financial performance. The present research aimed to provide an analysis of the potential relationship between the competition presented on the example of the Romanian banking market (before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and after its start), risk management in terms of risk-weighted assets (credit risk, market risk and operational risk), on one hand, and the profitability of the banking system measured by the ROA (return on assets) indicator, on the other. In order to test the formulated hypotheses, the authors used a predominantly quantitative research methodology based on a statistically deductive analysis with a series of testing objectives and potential cause-effect links. The results of this study indicate, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the existence of a significant intensity correlation between the banks’ exposure to the total risk (RWA) (risk-weighted assets) and the market share (as dependent variables) and the banking performance indicator (ROA) (as an independent variable) and, after the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, banks’ exposure to the credit risk, together with the position on the banking market.

The main objective of this research is to analyse the relationship between the board of director’ structure of the banks from the Romanian bank sector, the capital demands and the risk management in what concerns these relationships. Regarding the structure of the board of directors, their size is under the loop, alongside with the education of its members, the gender diversity and the members nationality. The indicators concerning the capital demand that are subject of this research are the solvency and the level of the total own funds of the banks and the ones expressing the risk management are represented by the total exposure of weighted assets according to the risk (RWA), the credit risk exposure, the market risk and the operational risk. The authors have tried to answer the question: Is there or is not a direct relationship between the top of the range board of directors structure and the risk management for the banks from the Romanian bank sector? To answer this question, the used methodology is mainly quantitatively, having as core the deductive statistical analysis, testing and identifying connections from the effect and cause category, considering also the significance level.

Agriculture has always been essential to the development of human society, providing the food necessary for human survival. For the Romanian economy, agriculture is a very important sector in terms of the number of enterprises involved and the agricultural area used, but also because of the workforce employed in the sector. However, Romanian agriculture is a vulnerable sector, which has had to face several unfavourable events in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, the conflict in Ukraine, and the lack of agricultural inputs have brought many risks for Romanian farmers in 2023, such as higher food prices and more expensive electricity for consumers. This paper aims to identify the perceptions of the managers regarding the outcomes of the recent events (the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, the conflict in Ukraine) on the future potential of agriculture in Romania and to determine their perceptions about the impact of other issues with which agricultural companies had to deal with in recent years (climate change, draught, inflation, governmental measures). Other goals of the paper were to find out the managers’ plans and prospects to potentially introduce or use new technologies and digitization within their own companies and uncover their assessments regarding the sector’s future within the European and international context. To identify these perspectives, qualitative research was carried out through in-depth interviews with respondents holding leadership positions within 16 Romanian agricultural companies. The data was analyzed in order to identify similarities and discrepancies within their statements and find corroborative ideas that could help improve the sector. The results of the paper showed how the COVID-19 pandemic and the unstable geo-political context along with other issues increased production costs, but favored digitization and technology. In the past years, because different events changed the European and Romanian economy, a lot of academic research has revolved around the areas of health, energy and technology. Therefore, the study brings elements of originality because of the theme and the approach, which provide valuable insights not only for Romania but for other countries in the region as well.