Romania’s biggest lender is skeptical about robust lending this year

Private lending in Romania will lose momentum to a nominal growth of 3.8% this year, down from 7.6% in 2019 - when the lending hit the highest growth in the past decade, according to Andrei Radulescu, director of macroeconomic analysis at Banca Transilvania, the country’s biggest lender, Ziarul Financiar reported.

He made the comment in the context of the European Central Bank and Bank of International Settlements recommending commercial banks to refrain from paying dividend and rather using their resources to boost lending with the ultimate aim of supporting economic recovery in the real sector.

The deposits of the population and private companies will increase by up to 6%, Banca Transilvania’s chief economist estimates. The loans-to-deposits ratio [around 75% currently] will further decrease, he added.

According to official data from Romania’s National Bank (BNR), the stock of non-governmental credit accelerated from 6.9% year-on-year in January to 7.6% year-on-year in February, the highest growth since September 2019.

(Photo: Shutterstock)