The year-on-year nominal growth stood at RON3.8 billion. Leu-denominated loans amounted to RON31.2 billion in January.
Analysts say that a factor in this growth besides the higher consumer confidence in the economy and low interest rates was the partnerships between banks and the tax authority.
“The process improved thanks to this partnership with the tax authority and the loan application processing and approval is simpler now. The fraud risk is really much lower now,” economic analyst Aurelian Dochia said.
The average interest on consumer leu loans was 9% in February, while the average interest in November 2008, when the leu-denominated consumer loans peaked at RON38 billion, was 18%.
Banks try to sell as many personal loans as possible, because they are the quickest to generate profit, while mortgage lending is still driven by the government-backed First Home scheme.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)