Banks anticipate continued tightening of lending standards for Q3 2025

Banks anticipate, for the third quarter of this year, a continued tightening of lending standards for consumer loans and a quasi-stagnation of those for the acquisition of land and housing, as well as those intended for non-financial companies, according to the "Survey on lending to non-financial companies and the population - Q2 2025", published on Thursday by the National Bank of Romania (BNR)."In Q2 2025, Romanian banks reported tightening of lending standards for loans and credit lines granted to the real sector. The main factors that determined this evolution were represented by the change in the share of non-performing loans in the bank's portfolio and expectations regarding the general economic situation. Credit institutions reported that credit risk increased for 8 of the 10 economic sectors considered compared to the previous quarter, with the energy sector still considered the riskiest. For Q3 2025, banks anticipate a continued tightening of lending standards for consumer loans and a quasi-stagnation of those for the acquisition of land and housing, as well as those intended for non-financial companies," the document states.According to the cited source, credit institutions indicated that the demand for loans from companies increased in the second quarter of 2025. The most important factors that contributed to the increase in demand from non-financial companies were the need for loans for investments, current needs and mergers/acquisitions or restructuring activity.In contrast, in the case of the population, the developments were mixed. The demand for consumer loans increased, while that for mortgage loans interrupted its upward trend in recent quarters and decreased this quarter.The BNR mentions that, in the case of the population, the factors that acted on demand were the level of consumer confidence, the general level of interest rates and financing through the use of their own savings.As for Q3 2025, banks expect a continued increase in credit demand from non-financial companies and a reduction in credit demand from the population, for both types of loans (consumer and mortgage).The survey is conducted quarterly by the BNR, in January, April, July and October. It is based on a questionnaire (published as part of the May 2008 analysis) which is sent to the top 10 banks selected according to market share in corporate and household lending. These institutions account for approximately 80% of lending to these sectors.