The Romanian households' net wealth continued to grow at a robust pace of 10 percent in 2021, with real estate assets acting as the main growth driver, shows the Financial Stability Report released by the National Bank of Romania (BNR).According to the cited document, the households' net wealth last year was in excess of 2.600 billion RON."The households' net wealth continued to increase at a robust pace during 2021 (+10 pct). Real estate assets are credited for the bulk of the growth (+13 pct), as they were driven by the robust evolution of real estate prices, along with expansion of the housing stock. The growth rate of financial assets slowed down from 34 pct in Q3 2020 to 3 pct at the end of 2021. An aspect worth mentioning is the divergent evolution of demand deposits (+25 pct in March 2022 vs. March 2021) compared to term deposits (-14 pct), as well as the speeding up of foreign exchange savings against national currency savings, indicating a high preference for assets with a high degree of liquidity, amid rising uncertainty caused by the conflict in Ukraine," the report states.The BNR notes that the income polarization trend observed in previous years has gained momentum during 2021, with deposits higher than the 100,000-euro guarantee ceiling increasing by 14 percent, compared to a 4 percent growth for other depositors. Also, there was a significant increase in the ownership of investment fund equity and listed stocks, which went up by 80 pct and 2.3 pct of GDP, respectively, on the back of rising stock indices and the emergence of new financial applications.According to the report, the evolution of the average net income was in line with the increase in consumer prices, as the real earnings index remained stable in March 2022 compared to the previous year. However, there are still significant differences in terms of the salary income distribution: 42 percent of the employment contracts registered in January 2022 were for a pay less than or equal to the minimum wage, and just 13 percent thereof provided for a pay above average.
Participation in cultural education activities continues to be limited, with the main barriers being difficult access, insufficient knowledge, and cost, the recently released Cultural Consumption Barometer 2024 shows. The report showed that many Romanians still associate culture with entertainment rather than with personal development or furthering their knowledge. The need for relaxation dominates in cultural […]
Roughly 84% of Romanians say that the pace of the state’s digitalization is slow or very slow, according to an Edge Institute & AtlasIntel study presented at the Digital Governance Summit 2025, which took place on Tuesday, November 25, at the presidential palace in Bucharest. The survey aims to capture the way citizens relate to […]
Romania’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) issued a negative opinion on the new bill regarding magistrates’ pensions. The move is only the latest development concerning a heated issue that led to tensions between the executive and the judiciary branch. CSM’s opinion is consultative, and the government led by Ilie Bolojan can still take responsibility for […]
Romania took the presidency of the Central European Initiative (or CEI) on Wednesday, November 26, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). The organization is a regional intergovernmental forum established in 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. It gathers 17 Member States in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe […]
Trade between Romania and Poland continues to grow, with annual bilateral exchanges in goods now valued at more than EUR 12 billion, according to figures presented by the Polish-Romanian Bilateral Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PRBCC). The data was released during a reception in Bucharest marking Poland’s Independence Day and Romania’s National Day. Polish investments […]
As Romania moves closer to implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, local employers are preparing for one of the most consequential shifts in workplace regulation in over a decade. The directive, set for transposition by June 2026, introduces strict new rules on salary disclosure, pay reporting, and equal-pay verification, aiming to close persistent gender gaps […]
