Forex lending turns dominant in Romania for first time in past decade

The flow of new corporate loans denominated in euros rose to EUR 795 mln (RON 3.9 bln, the highest level in 13 years) in September, surpassing for the first time in the last decade the flow of new corporate loans denominated in local currency (RON), Ziarul Financiarreported based on data from the national bank BNR.

A larger volume of corporate loans denominated in euros, of around EUR 863 mln, was previously reported in December 2009.

At the same time, for the first time in the last decade, the volume of new corporate loans in euros exceeded the monthly volume of new corporate loans in RON, which was RON 2.8 bln in September.

In 2022, the interest rates for the local currency jumped under the circumstances of rampant inflation, approaching 16% in September. The high-interest rates consequently reduced the appetite for loans in RON and were conducive to foreign currency loans, where the interest rates are lower.

For new corporate loans in RON, the average interest rate rose in September to over 9.8% (from below 5% in 2021), triple the interest rate on corporate loans in euros of 3.4%.

In the first 9 months of 2022, companies took new loans in RON and euros of RON 53.4 bln, 29% more compared to the same period in 2021.

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