Tradeville: Uncertain perspectives for banking, financial, consumer goods and tourism in Romania

Banks listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and Financial Investment Companies (SIFs) in Romania have uncertain perspectives in 2011, according to a recent report issued by brokerage company SSIF Tradeville SA. In banking, the austerity measures adopted in mid 2010 influenced lending, that stagnated. BRD's activity, the biggest traded local bank, was at a satisfactory level in the year 2010. As for the bad loans, reaching 9.1 percent in total loans, BRD is below the banking average, with 11.85 percent, although the net cost of credit risk increased by 52 percent. Banca Transilvania optimized the operational costs, improved the performance, increased loan portfolio, and maintained the bad loans at a low level in 2010. Banca Comerciala Carpatica, the third local bank listed on the Stock Exchange, ended 2010 with losses, being the only bank listed which recorded a net negative. “The bank wants to also operate in the financial leasing in 2011, to complete and diversify the range of services”, said Marga Sirghe, Tradeville analyst. In the financial sector, the performance was negative for all five financial investment companies in terms of net profit, the biggest drop being recorded by SIF Oltenia. “For this year, SIFs have developed multi-annual investment growth and restructuring strategies, some of which being common”, said Marga Sirghe. The consumer goods sector was characterized by different developments. After in 2009 Flamingo went insolvent, in 2010 Siretul Pascani decided to seek insolvency. “Demand deficit will persist over a medium term, although it is expected to gradually restrict”, said the Tradeville analyst. The Romanian tourism didn’t recover in 2010. For this year it is estimated that Romanians' demand for external holidays to increase by 20 percent, while the requests for holidays in Romania is expected to decrease by 20 percent, a trend which started in 2009. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com