The banking system’s profit stood at 800 million lei (EUR179 million) at the end of the first quarter of 2015, went up to RON1.2 billion at the end of the first half and doubled to RON2.2 billion after the first nine months, according to the central bank. Banks stayed profitable the whole year.
The banking system assets increased to more than RON377 billion, an eight-year high. Both return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) were positive at the end of 2015, at 1.35% and 12.8%. Considering the ROA and the assets, a simple calculation shows a profit of about EUR1 billion for the system in 2015. Last year’s record profit comes after the about EUR1 billion record losses of 2014, when assets stood at RON364 billion and ROA at –1.32%.
The solvency ratio, one of the most important indicators that Romania’s central bank monitors, which shows how well capitalized a lender is, stood at 17.5% at the end of last year, much higher than the minimum requirement of 10%, so banks have enough room to step up lending. Aggregate loan-to-deposit ratio in January-September 2015 reached 85.7%, the lowest in eight years. (EUR1=RON4.4569)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)