“I believe the banks’ main concern should be to move to corporate financing… It won’t be an easy transition, but… I think the Romanian banking system’s only chance is to focus on the corporate sector,” Popa said at the Romania Financial Forum 2011 organized by Mediafax and the central bank.
Popa said banking margins continue to be high, indicating that banks didn’t adjust to the slowdown in lending and the higher non-performing loans after the financial and economic crisis.
“The interest rates are somewhat lower, but the process isn’t complete and it must continue. Moreover, the margins are very high, which can be the result of higher costs during a period of crisis,” he added.
Romanian private lending inched down 0.1% in real terms to 215.7 billion lei (EUR50 billion) in August, but was up 3.9% from the year-earlier month. Corporate loans stood at RON113.1 billion.