New mortgage loans in lei neared RON4.5 billion in January-April, around 25% higher compared with the same period in 2019.
On the other hand, new mortgage loans in euros reached EUR27.4 million (RON131.7 million) in the first four months, up 12% on the year.
Total mortgage lending in January-April, including loans in lei and euros, exceeded RON4.6 billion, up 24.7% on the year.
In the first quarter of 2020, total mortgage lending in Romania grew 24% on the year, to over RON3.4 billion, the biggest mortgage lending volume in a decade.
In March alone, mortgage lending stood at RON1.3 billion, up 35% compared with March 2019, as many loan contracts were finalized before the country went into lockdown mid-March.
The average annual interest rate on mortgage loans in the first four months stood at 5.49%-5.75%, with the lowest level reached in April. Around 97% of new mortgage loans in 2020 were in lei.
Also due to the coronavirus pandemic, by the end of April around 260,000 individual customers (17%) and around 10,000 corporate customers (less than 10%) had asked to have loan repayments deferred, according to data from the Romanian Banks Association.