Loans in Romanian currency keep lending almost steady in April, deposits up 7%

Lending in foreign currencies was down in Romania in the month of April, but RON-denominated loans managed to balance things out, resulting in only a slight year-on-year decrease in lending, shows data from the Romanian Central Bank (BNR). Banks had an even better month when it came to reposits, with growth all over. Several trends emerged: companies chose to save more money in foreign currency, and get more loans in RON, while individuals saved more in the local currency, and also prefered loans in RON. April brought an 0.8 percent year-on-year decrease in loans, to some EUR 48.5 billion, but month-on-month lending saw a 0.2 percent increase. There were decreases across the board for lending in foreign currencies, with corporate lending leading the pack, with a 7.6 percent drop year-on-year. Retail loans were down 2.3 percent. Compared to March, corporate loans were however up – 0.4 percent, while retail lending took a 0.8 percent dive. But loans in Romanian currency were up both year-on-year and month-on-month. This time it was retail lending that led the way, with a 6.4 percent growth, while corporate loans were up 5.9 percent compared to April 2013. Household loans were again the star when comparing to March, with a growth in RON-denominated lending of 1.5 percent, while corporate loans were up 0.3 percent. Loans in RON totalled some EUR 19.7 billion, while loans in other currencies, some EUR 28.7 billion. Results were far better on the deposits side. The only indicator showing a decrease was for corporate loans in RON, which were down 0.4 percent month-on-month. The same indicator however had the best yearly evolution: it was up 12.9 percent year-on-year. The stock of deposits was almost equal to that of loans, but differences emerged in the distribution between deposits in RON and in other currencies: deposits in RON stood at some EUR 30.9 billion, while those in foreign currencies, at EUR 16.8 billion. Again the local currency was preferred in April, leading to growth both in household, and in corporate deposits, of 6.2 percent, and 8.8 percent, respectively. Forex-denominated loans were also up, but by a lower percentage: 4.2 percent overall, year-on-year. Compared to March 2014, the growth varied between 0.2 percent for household deposits in foreign currencies, and 1.9 percent, for corporate forex deposits. editor@romania-insider.com