Recent months have shown a clear tendency of a more rapid rise in past due euro and Swiss franc loans, after leu loans had caused the biggest problem at the onset of the crisis.
“This comes amid the very high foreign currency indebtedness rate. Clients with foreign currency loans were placed by banks on a higher level in terms of eligibility and had monthly installments that were up to 70%-80% of their incomes, so that they were harder hit by the crisis. Instead, the indebtedness degree of clients with leu loans revolves around 20-30%,” explains Valentin Lazea, central bank chief economist.
Overdue loans in foreign currencies climbed by the equivalent of 3.3 billion lei (EUR800 million) in April – up 90% from the same period of 2010, central data reveals.
The value of installments individuals paid late for lei loans rose by a “mere” 30% during the April 2010-April 2011 period, to RON2.95 billion.
While overdue foreign currency loans have posted the fastest growth in the past year, their weight in overall loans is still lower than that of overdue leu loans, as leu loans were largely granted without real estate collateral and clients stopped paying as soon as they faced financial troubles.