Deposits increase exceeds loans increase for individuals, while Govt. loan up 60%

The value of loans granted by banks to individuals and companies (the non-governmental loans) went up by 1.4 percent in May this year compared to the month before. The increase compared to May last year was of 2 percent. The governmental loans went up by as much as 60 percent in May this year compared to May last year, according to data released by the Romanian Central Bank (BNR) earlier today. During this 12-month period, more individuals and companies took loans in foreign currencies, which lead to an increase of 6.7 percent of this component. The value of loans in Romanian currency diminished by 4.7 percent. The total value of loans was evenly distributed between individuals and companies. The total value of the non-governmental loans was of around EUR 48 billion at the end of May this year, while individual and company deposits amounted to EUR 40 billion. The governmental loans were of EUR 12.6 billion. Non-governmental deposits went up by a mere 0.7 percent in May compared to April, and by 8.7 percent compared to May last year. However, individuals deposited less RON in May than in April, triggering a drop of 0.6 percent in the deposits in Romanian currency. They still cover the bigger piece of the RON deposits, compared to companies. Romanian individuals and companies preferred deposits in foreign currency, whose value went up as much as 10.7 percent in May this year compared to May last year. Month-on-month, the increase was of 2.2 percent. Individuals have the bulk of deposits in foreign currency, with more than half of the amount.