Loans contracted from Austrian banks reached EUR6 billion, down from a peak of EUR7.5 billion hit in September 2012. Against mid-2013, the decline amounts to some EUR850 million.
Austrian banks are followed by German banks (with loans worth over EUR3 billion) and by far by French ones (EUR600 million). German banks cut their exposure by EUR80 million in the past year and French ones by EUR30 million.
Loans contracted from abroad have contracted by around EUR1.5 billion since September 2012 and this is one of the indicators reflecting the deleveraging process. On the other hand, the decline shows companies’ low investment appetite, translating into very weak loan demand.
The situation is also reflected by local banks’ balance sheets. The volume of loans granted by local banks stood at RON112 billion at the end of August.
External loans account for one third in total loans taken out by Romanian companies. Interest rates levied by local banks for leu-denominated corporate loans dropped to a single digit in the past year, but bankers are still putting pressure on companies with gain margins of above 5%.
However, it is hard to believe there are many Romanian-held companies that resort to loans from abroad, with most funding being obtained by the subsidiaries of some foreign groups, for which parent companies try to get more favorable funding costs.
Beside Austrian, German and French banks, banks of Spain, Belgium and Italy also have relevant direct exposure to the local market.
In late August, less than one thousand companies had loans contracted directly from banks from abroad, meaning the average value of a loan stands at over EUR10 million.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)