New loans granted to consumers in January-September were 22% higher than in the year-ago period, and almost double the same time in 2014. The level is also double the first nine months of 2008, a boom year for the local economy.
New loans sales are clearly having one of their best moments driven by the consumers’ appetite for spending, by wage raises, and by the people’s confidence in the performance of the economy.
Consumer loans were the driver of the growth in new retail loans, accounting for about 60% of the total or almost RON13.3 billion, according to Romania’s central bank data. Consumer loans went up by more than 20% as the interest charged is about 8% to 10% a year.
Mortgage loans went up, too, by 23% to RON8.9 billion in January September. Analysts expect an even faster-paced growth in the coming period, as banks have reverted to lower more affordable down payment requirements to make up for the lost sales during all those months they required a high down payment, following the enforcement of the debt discharge law. Then there is also the additional RON500 million funding the First Home scheme got.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)