At the end of February, the volume of loans to non-government customers was at 218.3 billion lei (EUR48.7 billion), down 0.5% in real terms from the month before, central bank data showed Tuesday.
In January, the private lending went down 0.7% on the month, after an almost 5% decline in 2013.
The central bank is trying to restart the lending activity, which should fuel the domestic demand. Since July 2013, the bank has lowered its key monetary policy rate in six steps to a record low of 3.5%.
It has also cut the minimum reserve requirement ratios at the beginning of the year, freeing EUR1 billion from its coffers, but to little avail. A monetary policy meeting is scheduled for later this week.
Private loans in Romanian lei inched down 0.1% on the month in February, while foreign currency loans fell 0.4% when expressed in lei. When expressed in euros, foreign currency lending was down 0.5%, the central bank data showed.
Compared with February 2013, non-government lending decreased by 3% in real terms. Loans in Romanian lei were up 1% on the year in February, but hard currency loans were down 4.4% when expressed in lei and 7.2% when expressed in euros.
Deposits of non-government resident customers went up 0.7% on the month to RON216.5 billion in February.
End-February, government credit reached RON84.2 billion, up 10% in real terms from the year-earlier month. (EUR1=RON4.4793)