“I expect the interest rates on leu-denominated loans to fall toward our rate over the coming period, for both household and corporate clients. It’s all a matter of trust,” Isarescu told a seminar on inflation.
Isarescu said commercial banks are keeping interest rates at a double level compared with the central bank’s main rate, while complaining about the lack of stimuli for leu-denominated lending.
“I think there are two reasons for this: the banks didn’t trust we could overcome a high inflation — and they had all reasons to fear that –, and the other reason is that we don’t have a very coherent market yet,” he added.
End June, the central bank left its main rate unchanged at a record low of 6.25% a year for the ninth consecutive meeting. Minimum reserve requirements for both leu and foreign currency loans were also left unmodified.