Loans granted by foreign banks to Romania, down EUR 5.5 bln

The balance of loans granted by foreign private banks to Romanian companies and the Romanian state dropped by 20%, or EUR 5.58 billion, in just one year, reports local Economica.net. At the end of 2014, the total loans from foreign banks amounted to EUR 27.9 billion. One year later, they dropped to only EUR 22.3 billion, according to the latest annual report of Romania’s National Bank (BNR). Austria reduced its exposure by EUR 3 billion in just one year. At the end of last year, the balance of loans granted to companies in Romania by private banks in Austria amounted to EUR 6.86 billion, down from EUR 9.7 billion at the end of 2014. The Dutch private banks had a balance of EUR 3.42 billion, down EUR 1 billion compared to the end of 2014. Greek banks ranked third. At the end of 2015 the loans granted by Greek banks to Romanian companies amounted to EUR 2.8 billion, compared to EUR 2.98 billion at the end of 2014. editor@romania-insider.com