BNR data confirms that financing granted to banks is dropping

External financing attracted by Romanian banks dropped by €1.51 billion in the past one and a half months, due to the reimbursing of amounts due and rather little speed in attracting new resources from mother-banks.

To date, no Romanian bank has had to pay back its debts prior to maturity, although officials of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) do not exclude the risk of advance payments, considering the problems faced by lenders worldwide.

Foreign bank liabilities amounted to €23.6 bln on 17 December, down from €25.11 bln registered at the end of October. The long-term debt of banks was €14.4 billion on 17 December, compared to the €14.93 bln at the end of September.

The pace at which Romanians will take out loans will drop fourfold, to 15 percent in 2009, compared to the first half of 2008. Banks have cumulated one third of Romania's total foreign debt, which reached a historical peak in September, at €70.135 bln.

Business Standard