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Financial & Banking
Women on a path to gender equity in investment
Monday, March 13, 2023
by eToro analyst for Romania, Bogdan Maioreanu March 8 is International Women’s Day that celebrates the achievements of women and pushes for rights progress. The first recorded celebration was in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland when over a million people rallied to support women's rights. During time it grew in importance as women gained ...
Fiscal Agency targets economy sectors posting significant increases, which aren't reflected in their taxes
Monday, March 13, 2023
The inspectors of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) will verify such economic sectors that last year saw important increases, which were not reflected in the amounts they paid as taxes, ANAF head Lucian Heius informs on Wednesday."This year, if we discuss the general fiscal inspections, we are trying to focus more on VAT evasion, considering that we are speaking of an important tax of 19 per cent. We will also check such sectors of the economy ...
USR'S Drula: ASF chiefs, their appointers should explain why RCA policy is up 40pct
Monday, March 13, 2023
National leader of the Save Romania Union (USR) Catalin Drula is requesting the management of the Financial Oversight Authority (ASF) to give explanations regarding the increase in RCA third-party car insurance policies, noting that ASF Chairman Nicu Marcu had been summoned to Parliament more than a month ago."The governance of Ciolacu and Ciuca leads to a surge in all prices, including RCA policies. The heads of the ASF and those who put them in charge should ...
Polish payment fintech BLIK enters the Romanian market
Monday, March 13, 2023
BLIK, a Polish payment fintech, is launching in Romania, the second largest market in Central and Eastern Europe. The newly established company, BLIK Romania, will develop a unique and innovative digital payment system in RON that will bring a number of major advantages, including high security and simplifying payments by generating and using an individual six-digit code for each transaction. In the first phase, the system operator will focus on implementing the solution in ...
USR's Dragu: We could pay for about 3-4 highways with what we spend on loans
Monday, March 13, 2023
At a plenary sitting on Wednesday, Save Romania Union (USR - opposition) senator Anca Dragu told Finance Minister Adrian Caciu, as part of a Government Question Time, that in 2023 he has borrowed for Romania at very high costs and that Romania is facing "the biggest government deficit since the 2008 crisis.""In January 2023, Mr Minister, you managed to run the widest deficit since the 2008 crisis. There is a government deficit of RON 4 billion, almost 0.25% of ...
BNR: International reserves – February 2023
Monday, March 6, 2023
On 28 February 2023, the National Bank of Romania’s (BNR) foreign exchange reserves stood at EUR 52,001 million, compared to EUR 50,202 million on 31 January 2023. During the month, the following flows were recorded: EUR 3,250 million worth of inflows representing: changes in credit institutions’ foreign currency-denominated required reserves with the NBR; inflows into the ...
Mandatory private pension funds reach assets of 100.17 billion RON in January
Monday, March 6, 2023
Mandatory private pension funds (Pillar II) had assets worth 100.17 billion RON at the end of January, up by 11.75% compared to the level recorded at the same date in 2022, according to the statistics of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF)."Investments of privately managed pension funds were focused in a percentage of 90% in Romanian assets, most of which were RON-denominated," the report said.Government securities held the largest ...
Optional pension funds' assets reach 3.77 billion RON in January
Monday, March 6, 2023
Optional pension funds (Pillar III) had assets worth 3.77 billion RON, at the end of January, up 9.85% compared to the level recorded on the same date of the previous year, according to a report by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF)."Most investments were made locally (94%), most of them being denominated in RON (90%)", the report states.State bonds held the largest share in assets, of 2.391 billion RON, respectively 63.51%. In second place were shares, ...
Eurohold marks another successful year after strong fourth quarter
Monday, March 6, 2023
Eurohold Bulgaria AD, the largest publicly listed company in Bulgaria and a leading energy and financial group in Southeast Europe, reported a strong performance in the last quarter of 2022, sending another successful year into history. Last year, the holding registered a nearly 77% growth in revenues compared to the previous year to over EUR 3.2 billion and a roughly 52% increase in EBITDA to approx. EUR 146 million, according to the holding’s annual ...
Western Union marks a year of digital banking in Romania with 6% interest rate for Premium Account holders
Monday, March 6, 2023
Western Union is marking a year since the launch of its integrated digital banking and international money transfer app in Romania, with a series of new consumer offers. In Romania and in other three European markets, Germany, Poland and Italy, about 150,000 consumers, all of them aspiring to do better for themselves and their loved ones, are covering their financial needs through Western Union’s digital banking app, a product specifically ...
BCR posts net profit of 1.75 billion RON in 2022, almost 24 pct higher than in 2021
Monday, March 6, 2023
Last year, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) recorded a net profit of 1.746 billion RON, respectively 354 million euros, up 23.8% compared to 1.410 million RON (286.5 million euros) in 2021, due to an improved operational performance, supported by the continued strong growth in lending, informs the bank in a press release sent on last Tuesday.Net interest income increased by 21.7% to 2.949 billion RON (597.9 million euros) in 2022, from 2.422 billion RON (492.2 million ...
Raiffeisen Bank returns with a new issue of sustainable bonds worth RON 369 M on the Bucharest Stock Exchange
Monday, March 6, 2023
Raiffeisen Bank is listing today, 28 February, its third issue of sustainable bonds, worth RON 369 mn, on the Main Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The bonds to be traded under ...
CEC Bank reports 446.8 M RON in net profit in 2022
Monday, March 6, 2023
CEC Bank concluded the year 2022 with a non-audited net profit estimated at 446.8 M RON, up 22pct against 2021, according to a press release of the bank.This is the second consecutive year when CEC Bank reports increasing solid profits and consolidates its position on the market."CEC Bank continued its transformation and modernization programme in 2022 and invested in the digitization of banking products and services. At the same time, we played ...
Minutes of the monetary policy meeting of the National Bank of Romania Board on 9 February 2023
Monday, February 27, 2023
21 February 2023 The National Bank of Romania Board members present at the meeting: Mugur ...
Monetary indicators – January 2023
Monday, February 27, 2023
At end-January 2023, broad money (M3) amounted to RON 603,696.3 million, up 0.1 percent (down 0.3 percent in real terms1) month on month. In year-on-year comparison, ...
Raiffeisen Bank Romania's 2022 net profit at 1.2 bn RON, up 56 pct
Monday, February 27, 2023
Raiffeisen Bank Romania announced on Thursday having recorded a net profit of 1.2 billion RON in 2022, by 56 percent higher than in the previous year, and a 22 percent increase in total revenues to 3.2 billion RON.The bank's total assets topped the threshold of 60 billion RON, advancing 5 percent year-over-year. The bank's net balance of loans reached 39.5 billion RON, by 22 percent more compared to the end of 2021. Customer deposits totaled almost 50 billion RON ...
Ratification of Romania - IBRD guarantee agreement for 406 million EUR loan, approved by Gov't
Monday, February 27, 2023
The Government approved on Wednesday a draft law for the ratification of the guarantee agreement between Romania and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) signed in Bucharest on January 4, 2023 regarding the 100% guarantee of obligations related to the loan agreement (Draft on the institutional consolidation and resilience of the financial safety net) between the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund and the IBRD, in the amount of 406 million ...
Alpha Bank Romania supports the entrepreneurial environment by being a partner in the IMM INVEST Plus 2023 Program
Monday, February 27, 2023
Alpha Bank Romania reaffirms its commitment to support the Romanian businesses by actively partnering the IMM INVEST PLUS Program on all its components: IMM Invest, Agro IMM Invest, IMM Prod, Garant Construct, Rural Invest and Innovation. The Program’s main priorities are to boost local production, support constructions including “green” buildings, stimulate productivity and competitiveness in the agricultural field, and support innovative and digital ...
Freshly adopted amendment requires ASF to periodically consider regulating investments by private, voluntary pension schemes
Monday, February 27, 2023
The Chamber of Deputies adopted on Tuesday by a vote of 183 to 79 and 9 abstentions the bill approving the Government's Emergency Ordinance No. 174/2022 amending and complementing specific regulatory acts in the field of private pension schemes; among others, the bill stipulates that the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) periodically examines the possibility of developing regulations regarding the investment of the assets of privately managed pension funds and voluntary ...
Almost half of Romanians prefer to borrow from family, friends than to take out bank loan
Monday, February 27, 2023
Almost half of Romanians (47%) would turn to family or friends if they needed an amount of money, while a little over a quarter (29%) are thinking of taking a bank loan, shows a market study, published on Tuesday.According to data centralised by Reveal Marketing Research, 60% of respondents say they trust mobile banking applications because they "keep their money safe". Internet banking or bank websites follow in the top of preferences, with 59% of all ...