The IRCC (Reference Index for Consumer Loans) is expected to see a new decrease, to 5.55%, starting July 1, 2026, which is close to the lower limit of the current interest rates set by the National Bank of Romania. However, major interest rate cuts are not anticipated yet, given the persistently high inflation, which still does not allow for a reduction in the key interest rate.
The IRCC is calculated as a quarterly average based on the daily average interbank transaction rates and is applied with a one-quarter delay from the latest collected data. Thus, the rate applied for the April–June 2026 period reflects the average market interest rates from the October–December 2025 period. Interbank transactions—loans between banks—generally are with a very short-term. Banks with liquidity deficits borrow from those with surpluses to balance their accounts at the end of the day.
The three-month ROBOR index, the interbank interest rate used as a reference to calculate variable interests for loans in lei taken out before May 2019, as well as for companies’ leu-denominated loans, stayed put at 5.88% on March 31, 2026. Early 2026, the index reached 6.14%.
The six-month ROBOR, used to calculate variable interest rates for mortgage loans in lei, stood at 5.95% and the 12-month ROBOR at 6% on March 31.