The decline comes after Romania’s central bank decided at its Board meeting on August 7 to lower its benchmark interest rate to 6.50% a year from 6.75% a year, starting August 8. It also decided to cut its (Lombard) lending facility rate to 7.50% a year from 7.75% a year and its deposit facility rate to 5.50% a year from 5.75% a year.
The trend of the ROBOR index is impacted by several factors among which the central bank’s monetary policy, the market liquidity, inflation and tax policy.
On July 8, 2024, the index fell to 5.81% a year, from 6% previously, and then stayed in the 5.80%-5.81% range.
The three-month index started 2024 at 6.21%, against 7.56% in early 2023. The last time the rate was close to August 8 level was on May 18, 2022 when it reached 5.57%.
The new value of the consumer loan reference index IRCC, used by banks to calculate interest rates for new loans taken out starting with the spring of 2019, stands at 5.86% per year, a level applied for the loans contracted in the third quarter (July – September) of 2024. The value was calculated based on interbank transactions recorded in the first quarter of 2024. IRCC was 5.9% in the April-June period.
The six-month ROBOR, used in calculating variable interests for mortgage loans in lei, slid to 5.63% on August 8, from 5.85% on August 7. The 12-month ROBOR decreased to 5.66% from 5.89% the previous day.