The increase could be due to the central bank raising its benchmark interest rate to 1.5% a year, from an all-time low of 1.25% a year, starting October 6.
Since September 24, 2021, when it reached 1.65%, the three-month rate has increased daily, growing over 25% between Sept 24 and Oct 6, 2021.
The rate stood at 3.19% a year in early 2020 and at 2.03% a year at the end of 2020.
ROBOR is a monetary indicator used to calculate variable interests for loans in lei and interests for mortgage loans. Loans in lei with variable interests, granted before May 2019, depend on the variations of the ROBOR index.
The IRCC, which is defined as the quarterly average of interbank money market transactions, replaced the ROBOR money market interest rate in the calculation of variable interests on new retail loans in lei, at the beginning of May 2019.
The IRCC index decreased to almost half compared with the first value calculated, dropping to 1.25% and equalling the central bank’s benchmark interest rate.
Romania’s central bank on Tuesday (October 5) raised its benchmark interest rate to 1.5% a year from an all-time low of 1.25% a year. It also raised the interest for its deposit facility to 1% a year from 0.75% a year and the interest for its (Lombard) lending facility to 2% a year from 1.75% a year, applicable as of October 6, 2021. It also decided to maintain the existing levels of minimum reserve requirement ratios on both leu- and foreign currency-denominated liabilities of credit institutions.