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Financial & Banking
BNR: Monetary indicators – June 2022
Monday, August 1, 2022
According to the National Bank of Romania (BNR) data, at end-June 2022, broad money (M3) amounted to RON 569,291.7 million, down 0.02 percent ...
Global Payments: Payments of 2.5 million euros on mobile, in May and June
Monday, August 1, 2022
*Half of The Romanians frequently use card payment, and 82% noticed the increase in the number of places where they can make electronic payments Electronic payment methods are gaining more and more ground in Romania, after the consumption experiences of the two years of the pandemic. Almost half of Romanians (47%) prefer to use electronic payment methods, even when shopping ...
Non-performing loans rate drops 3.34pct in 2021
Monday, August 1, 2022
Last year, the rate of non-performing loans continued its downward trend from previous years, reaching the value of 3.34pct in December, compared to 3.71pct in December 2020, according to the 2021 Annual Report of the Fiscal Council.The provision coverage ratio reached 66.1pct at the end of 2021, up from 62.75pct the previous year, well above the European average of 44.5pct.Also, from a macroprudential point of view, it was possible to find ...
Libra Bank pays 6.5% fixed coupon on 10-year bonds denominated in euros
Monday, August 1, 2022
Romanian bank Libra, a lender specialized in the niche of liberal professions and owned by the American investment fund New Century ...
Mobexpert and Alpha Bank launch premium co-branded card in partnership with Mastercard
Monday, August 1, 2022
Mobexpert and Alpha Bank Romania are launching a co-branded shopping card through which customers of Romania’s largest furniture manufacturer and retailer can benefit from up to 36 interest-free instalments for purchases in Mobexpert stores and online at www.mobexpert.ro. In addition, customers can enjoy unique advantages such as 10% discount on products not benefiting from other discounts or 50% discount on ...
Alpha Bank Romania lends EUR 23 mln to Element Industrial for logistic projects
Monday, August 1, 2022
Romanian real estate developer with a focus on logistics and industrial segment, Element Industrial, announced on July 25 that it contracted a EUR 23 mln loan from Alpha Bank Romania for the development of the first two phases of the ELI Park 3 project, part of the ELI Park Bucharest North West hub. The first phase of ELI Park 3, with an area of 18,500 sqm, was delivered this spring and is fully ...
Romanians cut spending on utilities and shopping, allocate larger budget to positive experiences
Monday, August 1, 2022
Romanians have made 86 million transactions with Revolut during the first six months of 2022, by 31% more than the first six months of 2021, and tourism generated the largest increase, according to the financial application's data.The total volume of payments increased by 29% during the first 6 months of the year, as opposed to the same period of 2021."Regarding Romanian customers' consumer behavior, tourism generated the largest increase, ...
Minutes of the monetary policy meeting of the National Bank of Romania Board on 6 July 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
18 July 2022 The National Bank of Romania Board members present at the meeting: Mugur Is?rescu, Chairman of the Board and Governor of the National Bank of Romania; Florin Georgescu, Vice Chairman of the Board and First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania; Leonardo Badea, Board member and Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania; Eugen Nicol?escu, Board member and ...
Government prepares budget revision
Monday, July 25, 2022
The Romanian government plans to revise this year’s budget in the first half of August, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Thursday. The budget revision needs to include 10% cuts to each ministry’s budget, but also the support measures to mitigate against high inflation and increasing energy prices. However, the budget deficit will stay within the agreed limits, Finance Minister ...
Inflation in real estate: The residential, industrial and retail sectors, the most exposed
Monday, July 25, 2022
Inflation has become a hot topic for the real estate market, as all players in the industry (tenants or investors), are experiencing the effects of rising prices in one way or another, the most exposed sectors to the inflationary pressures being the residential, industrial and retail ones, with a lot more resilience found in the office segment. However, we estimate that energy price volatility could accelerate the companies’ process of relocating in green, ...
How fintech helps Romanians to plan longer holidays and better prepare the budgets for vacation
Monday, July 25, 2022
Most of the respondents want to spend the summer holidays locally, probably to prevent unforeseen situations they faced in the last 2 vacations, during COVID-19 pandemics. 26% of Romanians intending to travel abroad, in the general population, and the intention rises at 33% amongst the fintech users. Romanians intended to allocate an average of 2,894 RON (EUR 586) budget per vacation, but they under-estimated this ...
CEC Bank pays 8.25% for one-month deposit to Romgaz
Monday, July 25, 2022
The state-owned CEC Bank will pay an interest of 8.25% for the RON 86 mln (EUR 17 mln) one-month deposits placed by state-controlled natural gas company Romgaz (BVB: SNG). Thus, the company’s deposits with CEC Bank reach a value of over RON 1.2 ...
Non-baking financial sector assets stand at 14.11 GDP in 2021
Monday, July 25, 2022
The cumulative size of the assets of the three non-banking financial markets in Romania (insurance market, private pensions market and capital market) doubled from 2014 until the end of 2021, show the latest report on the stability of non-banking financial markets, carried out by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF).According to the report, the year 2021 was marked by increases in the assets of the non-banking financial sectors, compared to 2020. Thus, ...
Banks, exchange offices, payment operators must display fees charged for euro conversion
Monday, July 25, 2022
The government has adopted a piece of legislation by which payment service providers, recte banks, exchange offices, payment operators must clearly display the fees charged for conversion into and from euros, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Economy on Wednesday.It is about the Decision on the establishment of certain measures for the application of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 on ...
OTP Bank Romania joins the Start-Up Nation 2022 Program
Monday, July 25, 2022
OTP Bank Romania was selected by the state to join the Start-up Nation 2022 program implemented by the Ministry for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship. The program provisions a non-reimbursable financial aid granted by the state, within the maximum limit of 200,000 lei, for each start-up established after January 1, 2020, and that meets the eligibility criteria mentioned in the program. After accessing ...
Mazars publishes CEE Tax Guide 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
The region's tax wedge remains relatively wide, ranging between 15% and 51%. Countries maintain a characteristically different approach to income taxation and tax relief for families with children. VAT remains the prime source of tax revenues in the listed countries; digital technologies have visibly improved the efficiency of tax ...
Mugur Isarescu, BNR Governor: Sustainability and climate change – a more delicate balancing act
Monday, July 18, 2022
Motto: “Act responsible, think sustainable" The economy and financial system worldwide saw major transformations in the past decades, boosted by globalization and digitalization or reshaped by key inflexion points such as the 2008 financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemics and geopolitical shifts. Moreover, the climate change advent - flagged by the Club of Rome’s “Limits to ...
Analysis: Romania has reached the top 5 highest interest rates in the EU
Monday, July 18, 2022
The recent increase with one percentage point of the interest rate by the National Bank of Romania places Romania in the top 5 of the countries with the highest interest rates in the EU and the first ten countries with high interest rates in Europe, according to an analysis eToro. Romania is 9 – 10 equality with Iceland (4.75%) before us being Poland (6.5%), the Czech Republic (7%) and Hungary (7.75%). With ...
BNR: Balance of payments and external debt – May 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
In January - May 2022 the balance-of-payments current account posted a deficit of EUR 10,238 million, compared with EUR 5,698 million in the same year-ago period, the BNR ( the National Bank of Romania) data show.. The breakdown shows that the deficit on trade in goods widened by EUR 3,446 million, the surplus on services increased by EUR 505 million, the primary income deficit grew by EUR ...
CAPITAL MARKET IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2022: FUNDS PREFERRED EQUITIES TO FIXED INCOME INSTRUMENTS
Monday, July 18, 2022
The Romanian stock market has reacted to the shock of the war in Ukraine, as it has around the world. However, the impact was smaller than the crisis generated by the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic, and in the long term stock market indices have been on an upward trend. "Against the backdrop of political tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the evolution of the Romanian stock market deteriorated, but not ...