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Financial & Banking
Dennis Rijksen succeeds Marian Ion as head of ING Hubs Romania, starting 1 January 2025
Monday, December 9, 2024
ING Hubs Romania announces leadership change: Dennis Rijksen (photo left) becomes the new head of ING Hubs Romania, effective 1 January 2025, succeeding Marian Ion (photo right). Dennis Rijksen joined ING Group in 2015 within Wholesale Banking Lending and has rapidly advanced through several high-level global roles. His career highlights include serving as Chief Data Officer in ...
Central bank: Over 22 million active cards in Romania, at end June 2024
Monday, December 9, 2024
The total number of active cards at the end of June 2024 was 22,420,841 units, an increase of 669,038 cards compared to the end of 2023, according to data collected by the National Bank of Romania (BNR).Of these, 22,133,849 had a cash function, 584,162 more than in December 2023.On the other hand, as of June 30, 2024, the number of ATMs in Romania was 10,229 (the same as on December 31, 2023), while the number of POS terminals stood ...
FX Market Outlook for 2025: Dollar will stay strong, EUR/RON pair will maintain relatively stable
Monday, December 9, 2024
In a global economic environment defined by uncertainty and fast changes, Romanian companies engaged in international trade face significant challenges in securing profitability and financial stability. In this context, iBanFirst, a leading provider of foreign exchange and international payment services for businesses, has released the “FX Market Outlook 2025” report to help companies better understand and manage currency risks in the coming ...
Report: 88% of all mortgage credit and consumer loans are in local currency
Monday, December 2, 2024
Total loans granted to individuals and in payment reached EUR 37.4 billions at the end of September 2024, up 6.6% compared to 2023’s year-end, with increases recorded both in the mortgage loans segment and in consumer loans, according to a market report released by online broker Ipotecare.ro and financial consulting and mortgage lending company SVN Credit Romania. Thus, the mortgage balance reached a value of EUR ...
IFC partners with UniCredit Bank to boost access to climate finance in Romania
Monday, December 2, 2024
A new IFC investment in senior bonds issued by UniCredit Bank S.A., the Romanian subsidiary of UniCredit S.p.A., representing the first tranche of the total €108 million investment approved in relation to UniCredit Bank`s Euro Medium Term Notes Programme, will expand access to green loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and individuals, including women, to bolster the country’s climate finance market and support its green ...
Late payment of bills becomes growing vulnerability for economy
Monday, December 2, 2024
The effects of inflation, the decrease in sales, logistical or financing problems have significantly increased the level of payment delays, a fact that risks leading to extensive financial problems in the economic chains, warn the experts from Sierra Quadrant, in an analysis of the vulnerabilities of the economic chains."The Romanian economy seems to be hanging by a thread, with increasingly vulnerable businesses, as evidenced by this year's negative ...
Revolut joins Instant Payments network in Romania
Monday, December 2, 2024
The Revolut digital bank, with over 4 million customers on the local market, joined the Instant Payments network in Romania last week, the company announced in a statement sent on Thursday.The service was developed by TRANSFOND, the operator of the Automatic Interbank Payments Clearing House, in collaboration with commercial banks, the Romanian Association of Banks (Administrator of National Payment Schemes) and the National Bank of Romania (Supervisor ...
Fitch Ratings has improved the Long-Term Debt Rating of Garanti BBVA Romania
Monday, December 2, 2024
The international rating agency Fitch Ratings has revised upwards the Long-Term Debt Rating (IDR) of Garanti BBVA Romania (GBR) to ‘BB’ from ‘BB-‘ with Stable Outlook, this improvement representing the significant recognition of the solid financial position of the bank and its capacity to operate efficiently in the economic landscape of Romania.According to a press release of the bank, sent on Monday, Fitch improved the Viability ...
Romania's seven-year plan to narrow budget gap may test markets' patience
Monday, December 2, 2024
Financial markets might run out of patience with Romania's high fiscal deficit, chairman of the country's fiscal watchdog Daniel Daianu warned on Tuesday, saying Bucharest's seven-year plan to narrow the gap risked being too slow for some investors, Reuters reports.The prospect of presidential and parliamentary elections in central Europe's second-largest economy in November and December has triggered a spending surge that is expected to push Romania's ...
The new management of Exim Banca Romaneasca, approved by shareholders
Monday, December 2, 2024
The management of Exim Banca Romaneasca will be ensured for the next four years by Traian Halalai as executive president, Lidia Stan – executive vice president responsible for retail activity/CFO, Catalin Parvu – executive vice president responsible for corporate and treasury activity and Codin Nastase – executive vice president responsible for internal control activity/CRO, following today’s decision of the General Meeting of ...
Report: 88% of all mortgage credit and consumer loans are in local currency
Monday, December 2, 2024
Total loans granted to individuals and in payment reached EUR 37.4 billions at the end of September 2024, up 6.6% compared to 2023’s year-end, with increases recorded both in the mortgage loans segment and in consumer loans, according to a market report released by online broker Ipotecare.ro and financial consulting and mortgage lending company SVN Credit Romania. Thus, the mortgage balance reached a value of EUR ...
Net assets of investment funds increased in October by 1.1%, up to 48.5 billion RON
Monday, December 2, 2024
The net assets of the 247 open and closed funds, local and foreign, increased in October, compared to the previous month, by 1.1% to the level of 48.5 billion RON (9.7 billion euros), and since the beginning of the year they have increased by 22%, according to a press release from the Association of Fund Administrators..According to the quoted source, the net income of the month totaled 546 million lei (109.7 million euros).The 5 best performing ...
Minutes of the monetary policy meeting of the National Bank of Romania Board on 8 November 2024
Monday, November 25, 2024
Publishing date: 20 November 2024 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; Leonardo Badea, Vice Chairman of the Board and First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Romania; Florin Georgescu, Board ...
Romanians prefer bank deposits, show poor appetite for capital market, survey finds
Monday, November 25, 2024
People aged over 65 years prefer time deposits, whereas young people under 25, who have limited financial resources, are not prone to saving, Bogdan Negrea, director of the Currency and Banks Department of the Finance Faculty of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies said on Wednesday, as he presented the results of the survey "Savings and investment behavior among the Romanian population in the European context.""The survey on savings and investments ...
Moody’s confirms Banca Transilvania’s rating
Monday, November 25, 2024
Moody’s ratings, assigned for the first time in 2023, and upgrades the outlook from stable to positive for its long-term deposit rating (Baa2) and issuer rating (Baa3). The reaffirmation of the baseline credit assessment (Ba1) reflects BT’s solid capitalization and robust profitability, underpinned by its leading position in the Romanian banking sector and operational efficiency. The rating also reflects ...
tbi bank reports record EUR 38 million net profit in the first 9 months of 2024
Monday, November 25, 2024
tbi, SEE’s leading challenger bank, continues to show strong financial results with a record net profit of EUR 38 million for the first 9 months of 2024 – 34% higher year-on-year (YOY) based on unaudited consolidated financial results. Furthermore, tbi bank maintained its strong liquidity and capital positions. Strong performance can also be seen in all business lines. Throughout the first nine ...
MyBenefits and Metropolitan Life sign a partnership to offer health insurance
Monday, November 25, 2024
MyBenefits, the employee benefits platform, announces its collaboration with Metropolitan Life, one of the leading life and health insurance market leaders in Romania. Through this partnership, employees of companies using the MyBenefits platform will have direct access to health insurance packages offered by Metropolitan Life. The available health insurance packages can be purchased directly from the MyBenefits ...
National Bank official: RoPay project places Romania on European map of landmark initiatives in retail payment
Monday, November 25, 2024
The RoPay project, the result of an effort sustained for over three years, positions Romania on the map of European landmark initiatives in the field of retail payments, said Leonardo Badea, deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), on Monday, at the launch event of the RoPay service.According to him, RoPay allows the initiation of instant payments directly from one bank account to another, based on technologies such as QR code scanning, deep ...
IRES 2024 Study: Romanians Save More, But Prefer to Keep Cash
Monday, November 25, 2024
Half of Romanian households save money monthly, but 57% of them keep their savings in cash, according to the 2024 Debt Barometer conducted by IRES in partnership with KRUK Romania. The study provides a detailed snapshot of financial habits, spending priorities, and debt repayment, emphasizing the need for financial education and tailored solutions for better budget management. “Money Under the ...
Hungary surpasses Romania in gold reserves after purchasing 14.5 tons in September
Monday, November 25, 2024
The National Bank of Hungary purchased 14.5 tons of gold at the end of September this year, joining the ranks of many central banks that have increased their gold reserves over the past three years. Thus, for the first time in modern history, Hungary holds more gold reserves than Romania. The same list includes Poland, Turkey, Serbia, as well as countries like China, India, and Singapore. According to data from the ...