Romanian banks set interests of 10% to lei deposits and of 35% to credits, BNR official says

Banks offer interests of 9-10 percent for deposits and of 35 percent for credits in lei, raising margins following changes on the market, said the advisor of the central bank's (BNR) governor, Adrian Vasilescu.

Romanian banks hiked interests for deposits to top levels of 14 percent per year in the past months, owing to financing problems on the international markets and following the increase of the key interest rate by BNR.

"They say conditions on the market have changed, but I wonder which of them could generate such a margin," said Vasilescu.

Also, interests for credits boosted, especially in October, to100 percent, pushing up the ROBOR rate used as reference for credits in lei.

Vasilescu deems the authority for consumers' protection (ANPC) needs trained people to properly check banks and protect clients.

Banks will continue focusing on the internal market in a bid to attract deposits, but this tendency should not discourage activities on the capital markets, said Vasilescu, adding measures to limit the impact of the international financial crisis could avoid the bourse's decline following excessive savings in banks.

NewsIn