The new level was computed based on transactions on the interbank monetary market in the first quarter of 2023.
Previoulsy, the IRCC was calculated at 5.98% a year for the second quarter of 2023. The decline to 5.94% is the first after six consecutive increases and the trend started with the 1.17% level announced for the third quarter of 2021. Subsequently, IRCC climbed to 1.86%, 2.65%, 4.06%, 5.71% and 5.98%, respectively.
The IRCC is computed at the end of each quarter as the arithmetic mean of the daily interest rates determined for the previous quarter and is enforced by banks for the following quarter.
The IRCC, the reference index for household mortgage and consumer loans, was introduced in May 2019 to better reflect the situation on the banking market.
Currently, the IRCC index is below the level of the three-month ROBOR index, which is the interbank interest rate used as a reference to calculate variable interests for loans in lei taken out before May 2019. On Tuesday (July 4), the three-month rate stands at 6.53% a year, compared to 6.54% a year on Monday (July 3).
ROBOR started 2023 at 7.56% a year, dropped to 6% a year on May 16 and then returned to growth. The index increased over the course of 2022, reaching the 8% threshold on August 1, 2022, and touching a record high of 8.2% at the end of October 2022.