“At deposits, some banks have lowered the rates more than needed, but they had a liquidity surplus, they needed to be careful. However, the excess of liquidity it temporary, the extra funds will be absorbed once lending starts to grow,” Isarescu told a news conference Friday.
The governor said other banks proved they had a longer-term vision and kept interest rates for attracted funds close to 2%.
This week, the central bank cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points to a record low of 1.75%. It also reduced the minimum required reserve ratio for leu deposits by two percentage points, at 8%, a measure that will free up some 3 billion lei (EUR675 million).
Regarding the lending interest rates, Isarescu said there is still room for reduction, because banks could cut their margins as the interbank lending rate ROBOR, which is used as reference for variable loan rates, is stable.