Interests on credits in RON start rising

Bankers are reluctant to offer a discount, although they call out loud for economic recovery, according to "Ziarul Financiar". Just as the economy is, more than ever, in need of encouragement, interests on credits on RON not only are not reduced, but even started to rise.

Compared to the beginning of May, the Romanian Interbank Offer Rate (ROBOR) three and six-month interests, used as the reference rate for credits in RON, rose, in June, by over one per cent, settling at 7-7.5 per cent per year, a figure which remained constant through the first half of July, when many banks update credit costs based on the monetary market indexes. At any rate, some banks update their references only on a biannual basis, using the ROBOR three-month index, of 10.65 per cent, published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR) on December 31, 2009. Others already applied, in June, higher interests on RON credits.

After two years in which the recovery of credits has been discussed to no avail, the only ones who push in this direction are Romanian entrepreneurs, who are also the most heavily dependant on bank loans. The BNR governor, Mugur Isarescu, has given up on urging bankers to bring interests closer to the RON key-rate, which remained, however, at 6.25 per cent. Moreover, BNR is considering allowing bigger banks to reduce their Romanian exposure, allowing that they, supposedly, ran out of outlets for their money.

Nine O'Clock