On the other hand, lenders started hiring, so the headcount went up by 144 to 55,425 employees in the first half over the year-ago period, Romania’s central bank data show.
In all 16,197 employees left the system since the onset of the financial crisis, a 22% decline in headcount and 2,023 bank branches or 30.9% of the total closed.
Despite the restructuring of the territorial network, banks continue to incur high operating expenses, as the number of employees rose and so did salaries. Net average salaries in banks are almost double the average net wage in Romania’s economy, 2,636 lei (EUR568) in the first half of 2018.(EUR1=RON4.6430)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)