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Financial & Banking
Government plans new or higher taxes, cuts spending to limit worrying fiscal gap
Monday, August 5, 2019
Romanian government is planning to introduce new taxes for sugary soft drinks and big pensions, raise taxes for cigarettes and cut spending by reducing bonuses and staff in the public administration, according to a draft emergency decree released by the Finance Ministry. The plan was put together by the government due to the fact that it is running out of resources to cover soaring spending on wages and ...
The mid-year budget deficit rises to 1.94 pct of GDP on high public wages, pensions
Monday, August 5, 2019
The budget deficit increased to RON 19.96 billion or 1.94 percent of the gross domestic product in the first six months of 2019, according to data from the Finance Ministry, which represents a 38.5 percent rise compared to the deficit of 1.4 percent of GDP recorded in the previous month. Compared to H1 2018, when the fiscal gap totaled RON 14.97 billion, the public deficit rose by 33.4 percent. The government estimates a deficit ...
Garanti Group Romania registered a net profit of RON 98 Million in H1
Monday, August 5, 2019
Garanti Group Romania, which brings together Garanti Bank, Garanti Leasing and Garanti Consumer Finance, registered, in the first six months of 2019, its best performing semester in Romania, thanks to effective loan portfolio management and operational efficiency. Between January and June, Garanti Group Romania registered a consolidated net profit of RON 98 million, approximately 25% higher than in the same period last year, while the total ...
BCR reports H1 loss of 20.8 ml lei due to provision for BpL
Monday, August 5, 2019
BCR reported a net loss of 20.8 million lei (4.4 million euro) in H1 2019 as a result of the exceptional provision set aside in connection with the activity of the 'BCR Banca pentru Locuinte' housing bank, the lender said in a Wednesday release.Romania's High Court ruled in June this year that the BCR housing bank did not comply with the law requirements regarding the payment of state premiums for the clients of the home savings and loan plan (bauspar). BCR owner ...
BNR: International reserves – July 2019
Monday, August 5, 2019
On 31 July 2019, the National Bank of Romania’s foreign exchange reserves stood at EUR 35,473 million, compared to EUR 32,569 million on 30 June 2019, a press release informs. During the month, the following flows were recorded: EUR 3,633 million worth of inflows representing changes in credit institutions’ foreign currency-denominated required reserves, inflows into the Ministry of Public Finance’s ...
National Guarantee Fund for SMEs cuts guarantee fee to 1.95 percent
Monday, August 5, 2019
Romanian National Guarantee Fund for SMEs (FNGCIMM) cut the guarantee fee charged to the beneficiaries of the Start-up Nation Program starting from July 25, up to 1.95 percent of the loan amount, according to a press release. “The National Loan Guarantee Fund for SMEs (FNGCIMM) is one of the main partners of the Start-Up Nation Government Program, providing also in the second edition of the program a dedicated guarantee product for bridge loans ...
ASF: Romanian capital market needs “fresh blood”
Monday, August 5, 2019
Leonardo Badea, the president of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), told Business Review that the local capital market overcame the turbulence registered at the end of last year and registered during the first half of this year a robust growth rate sustained mainly by the higher dividends and improved financial results. However, Badea points out that the local capital market needs “fresh blood” under the form of new IPOs ...
BVB: Stock market grew in first half of year
Monday, July 29, 2019
BET index, which includes the most transactioned 16 companies, grew by 20% in the first 6 months of the year, the second largest increase rate in EU, a press release of Bucharest Stock Exchange shows. The index which also includes dividends granted by companies from BET, BET-TR exceeded for the first time the threshold of 14,000 points and has grown by 30% since the beginning of the year. “The local stock market has ...
OTP Group has completed the acquisition of the Societe Generale subsidiary in Moldova
Monday, July 29, 2019
OTP Bank has announced that on 25 July 2019 the financial closure of the Moldavian transaction has been completed. As a result, OTP Bank has become 96.69% owner of Mobiasbanca – Groupe Societe Generale S.A. („MBSG”), the Moldavian subsidiary of Societe Generale Group. With a market share of 13.8%, MBSG is the 4th largest bank on the Moldavian banking market and as a universal bank it has been active in the ...
Romanians move their savings in hard currencies on lower confidence in RON
Monday, July 29, 2019
Romanians have steadily moved their savings from RON accounts into hard currency accounts since the beginning of this year, a trend that could be associated with lower confidence in the local currency following the steep depreciation registered in January, according to fresh central bank data. Bank deposits in RON have become less attractive during the last couple of years as a consequence of low – and real negative – interest rates, ...
Net assets of investment funds, up 1.4pct in June
Monday, July 29, 2019
The net assets of the 203 open-end and closed-end, local and foreign funds rose 1.4pct in June, to 44.4 billion lei (9.4 billion euro) recording an increase of 6.1pct since the beginning of the year.Net inflows of the month totaled 222.2 million lei (47 million euro), according to the Association of Fund Managers (AAF).The net assets of the 81 local open-end funds increased by 2.1pct in June, to 22.4 billion lei (4.7 billion euro), while the increase ...
Mandatory private pension funds report June 2019 assets of over 55.15 billion lei, up 26.12pct
Monday, July 29, 2019
Romania's mandatory private pension funds had assets of over 55.15 billion lei on 30 June 2019, up 26.12 percent against the level recorded in the similar month of last year, according to data with the Financial Oversight Authority (ASF).Government bonds made up the largest share of the assets, namely 32.24 billion lei and a 58.46 percent share. The second largest component was stocks, worth 10.9 billion lei (19.76 percent). Bank deposits ranked third, at 4.18 ...
Number of compulsorily insured dwellings up 1.52pct in June
Monday, July 29, 2019
The number of active compulsory home insurance policies (PAD) increased by 1.52 percent in June, having reached 1,715,914 compared to 1,690,193 PAD policies active on 30 June 2018, according to the statistics of the Natural Disaster Insurance Pool (PAID), the company issuing this type of insurance.On 31 December 2018, a number of 1,704,634 PAD policies were active.According to the PAID, at end-May, 75 percent of the nationally active policies had been ...
Instant Factoring financing requests increased 5 times in the first half of the year
Monday, July 29, 2019
The volume of processed financing requests has increased fivefold in the first semester of the year compared to the second half of 2018, according to Instant Factoring. For the second half of the year, the company expects to maintain the increase in the volume of funding granted. The financial objective for the year 2019 is the achievement of a volume of financing granted to micro-enterprises in Romania amounting to EUR 15 million. The average amount ...
BNR: Monetary indicators – June 2019
Monday, July 29, 2019
At end-June 2019, broad money (M3) amounted to RON 390,477.8 million, up 0.3 percent (0.5 percent in real terms) month-on-month. In year-on-year comparison, broad money rose by 7.7 percent (3.7 percent in real terms), the Central Bank (BNR) data show. At end- June 2019, loans to non-government sectorgranted by credit institutions advanced by 0.8 percent (1.0 percent in real terms) from May 2019 to RON 259,570.9 million. ...
BNR: Balance of payments and external debt – May 2019
Monday, July 22, 2019
In January - May 2019p, the balance-of-payments current account posted a deficit of EUR 3,401 million, compared with EUR 2,564 million in January - May 2018, Central bank (BNR) data informs. The deficit on trade in goods widened by EUR 1,476 million, the surplus on services income increased by EUR 116 million, the deficit of the primary income balance narrowed by EUR 778 million, and the surplus of the secondary income balance decreased by EUR 255 ...
Number of compulsorily insured dwellings up 1.52pct in June
Monday, July 22, 2019
The number of active compulsory home insurance policies (PAD) increased by 1.52 percent in June, having reached 1,715,914 compared to 1,690,193 PAD policies active on 30 June 2018, according to the statistics of the Natural Disaster Insurance Pool (PAID), the company issuing this type of insurance.On 31 December 2018, a number of 1,704,634 PAD policies were active.According to the PAID, at end-May, 75 percent of the nationally active policies had been ...
Ameropa signs EUR 324 million syndicated credit facility to finance group operations in Romania
Monday, July 22, 2019
Swiss grain and fertiliser distributor Ameropa has signed a EUR 324 million multivalued revolving credit facility with a bank syndicate including Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) and Raiffeisen Bank as principal initiators, bookrunners and structuring banks, together with ING Bank NV Amsterdam – Bucharest Branch and UniCredit Bank S.A., as principal mandatees and creditors. BCR also acted as facility and guarantee agent as well as documentation ...
Daianu: Ample corrections are needed to the onsolidated state budget, unknown consequences
Monday, July 22, 2019
Freshly appointed as Fiscal Council president, Daniel Daianu warns about ample corrections of the consolidated state budget with unknown consequences for the citizens and companies. “The ...
Mid-year assets of voluntary pension schemes at over 2.27 bln lei
Monday, July 22, 2019
Assets held by voluntary pension schemes amounted to over 2.27 billion lei as of June 30, 2019, up 20.34 percent YoY, according to data provided by the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF).Government securities account for the highest share, with 1.269 billion lei, or 55.76 pct, followed by shares with 517,040 million lei (22.70 pct) and corporate bonds - at 208.811 million lei (9.17 pct) of total assets.According to ASF data, total assets under ...