Lei depositors are penalized by low interest rates, which is a reason why BNR will have to increase interest rates further to prevent a migration to the euro, the so-called Euroization of the economy, Valentin Lazea, chief economist at the national Bank of Romania (BNR), said recently at a specialized conference. The BNR official said that the rate between loans and deposits is kept subunit both for the lei – 0.82 in April as well as for foreign currency – 0.51 in April. ‘In other words, there are fewer loans both in lei and in foreign currency than deposits in banks. What does it mean? It means that the banks have sufficient funds for lending, but they do not find enough possibilities to place them – and this is happening as almost 40% of the Romanian companies are non-bankable – a story which has been lasting for 30 years – nobody wants to deal with it. What is 40% of the non-bankable companies? It means lower capital than 200 lei or negative capital. Lending could exist, but first you need to exist the capitalization of the companies’ Lazea said.As regards lending, the first five months of 2022, despite the war in Ukraine, lending has increased in nominal terms, both the governmental one and the non-governmental. As regards the profitability of the banking system, the BNR head economist said that, after four months, namely between January – April, the cumulated profit is 2.9 million lei, being approximately similar to the previous year, when it was almost 8,2 billion lei, for the whole year.
Romania registered the third lowest employment rate in the EU in 2023, following Italy and Greece, according to recent Eurostat data. Only 69% of Romanians aged between 20 and 64 are employed, meaning nearly one-third of Romanians are not working. Certain factors influence these figures. Romania makes use of a category of special pensions applied […]
Authorities are looking into the case of a Romanian minor who was allegedly sold for RON 8,000 (EUR 1,600) and arrived in Germany with false documents. Romanian authorities were notified by those in Germany regarding the case, but investigations are still ongoing. The minor is currently in the care of the German state. The boy […]
The residential market had a strong start in 2024, with the first quarter ending with an 18% increase in the number of residential transactions in Bucharest compared to the same period last year, according to Colliers data. In the rest of the country, the increase was slightly higher - 19%. According to Colliers consultants, buying […]
Siemens Healthineers, the medical technology branch of the German multinational, recently launched its newest MRI scanner, the MAGNETOM Flow, during an event held in Bucharest on April 24. Featured in one of the panels during the event, Sonja Wehsely, executive vice president CEECA Siemens Healthineers, highlighted the strengths of the new scanner. Wehsely, who has […]
The Romanian General Prosecutor's Office officially announced the indictment of former president Ion Iliescu, former prime minister Petre Roman, and former deputy prime minister Gelu-Voican Voiculescu for crimes against humanity, in the case of the Mineriada (miners' riot) of June 1990. Along with the three, the former director of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), Virgil […]
Uber launched its Green service in the popular mountain city of Brașov, in central Romania, on April 25, with a fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles such as Toyota Prius, Hyundai Ioniq, Tesla Model Y, and Volkswagen ID.3. Previously, the Uber Green option was made available to residents and tourists of Cluj-Napoca in November 2023. “We […]
