Net loans granted by Banca Transilvania grew 9% in the first nine months of 2018, to RON32.5 billion, also driving asset growth. The Banca Transilvania Financial Group has total assets of RON76.6 billion, o which RON64.7 billion represent bank assets.
Banca Transilvania, the second largest lender in Romania by assets, had a nine-month profit of RON979 million in 2018, up 25.6% on the year. It has a stock market value of RON8.1 billion and its share price dropped 15% since the beginning of 2019.
On Friday, Fitch revised the outlook on Banca Comerciala Romana. (BCR) and BRD-Groupe Societe Generale S.A. (BRD) at ‘BBB+’, to Negative from Stable, while affirming the banks’ respective Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘BBB+’.
Fitch said it sees the operating environment for Romanian banks becoming increasingly difficult in light of a series of bank-unfriendly measures passed or proposed by the authorities. The potentially most severe is a bank levy linked to banks’ financial assets and the value of the interbank rate ROBOR, to which most retail loans are linked.
There is currently some uncertainty about how the bank levy will be implemented (in particular as regards calculation of the tax base) and whether it will be subject to political challenge in the near- or medium-term, the ratings agency added.