Romanian bankers taken by surprise by Govt. 's decision of another loan repayment moratorium

The ruling coalition's decision to enforce another nine-month loan repayment moratorium, such as the similar measure implemented during the pandemic crisis, took by surprise the bankers - who expected more public debates on the technical details, Ziarul Financiar reported.

The Government announced over the weekend the move as part of a broader social support package estimated to cost EUR 1.1 bln.

Specifically, the ruling coalition announced on May 23 that it agreed "to postpone for 9 months the bank instalments for natural persons and companies facing financial difficulties due to the recent crises." The terms of the moratorium would be included in an emergency ordinance, prime minister Nicolae Ciuca commented afterwards.

The details are quite important for the banks, which will have to build commissions for the loans thus deferred - as opposed to the previous moratorium that was supervised by the European Banking Authority that extended a waiver for this.

Furthermore, the high interest rate environment makes the details of the bank loan moratorium even more important for both banks and debtors.

It remains unclear whether the Government is ready to provide some subsidies for the scheme.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)