The sums accumulated in May through the permanent overnight deposit facility, a tool of last-resort for cash left unplaced at the end of a trading day, thus reached almost RON40 billion, according to BNR data.
Sums deposited daily in the first four months of 2011 registered an average of RON1.3 billion, meaning that bankers managed a higher volume of cash last month, which was reflected by the lower interbank interest rates, particularly in the first half of the month.
The interest rate the central bank pays for sums raised through the overnight deposit facility stands at 2.25% per annum, against a nominal average interest of 10%-12% for new leu loans.
However, bankers are not willing yet to take on too high risks as bad loans are still piling on and banks have to set aside more money to cover losses generated by non-reimbursed loans. At the same time, demand for new loans is still low despite recent marketing campaigns.