RO banks keep widening interest rate spread in August
The spread between interest rates on new bank loans for the population and new deposits in Romania increased to 5.72pp in August from 5.6pp in July, according to data quoted by Ziarul Financiar.
Andrei Chirileasa · Journalist
· Updated · 1 min read
The spread between interest rates on new bank loans for the population and new deposits in Romania increased to 5.72pp in August from 5.6pp in July, according to data quoted by Ziarul Financiar.
Previously, the spread had narrowed to 4.9pp in April from 6.13pp in February.
In a perfect market, the rising margin could reflect stronger demand for loans - but also excessive liquidity.
The average interest on consumer loans reached 9.78% (per year), while average interest on mortgages rose to 5.68% in August. Romania's National Bank (BNR) sees the headline inflation no higher than 3% over the two-year forecast horizon, falling under 2.5% at the end of the period.
In the first eight months of 2020, local banks granted new retail loans denominated in local currency at an average interest rate between 6.67% and 8.05%.
For deposits, the average interest rate ranged between 1.66% and 1.93%.
(Photo: Octav Ganea/ Inquam Photos)
