Romania's Banking Sector to Thrive Through 2019, Fueled by Strong Economy

“After overcoming the recent stagnation, the corporate lending in Romania is expected to increase fast at ~6% p.a. through 2019,” said Marcin Mazurek, director of Inteliace Research, during a presentation of Inteliace's latest report, Banking Market in Romania, 2017.

Warszawa, Poland, August 13, 2017 --(PR.com)-- Romanian economy has accelerated in 2016 with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) advancing at 4.8 % annual rate. The key driver of the growth was private consumption fueled by lower taxes, surging wages and falling unemployment. Labour market improved further with unemployment rate decreasing to 5.3% in Q2 2017 as opposed to 6.0% a year earlier. The consumer price index (CPI) rebounded from a negative territory in 2016 to +0.7% YoY in June 2017 and it remains on an ascending path.

Romania has the 4th largest banking sector in the CEE with nearly € 87 billion in total assets and a 7.5% regional share. Total banking assets in Romania increased by 4.4% YoY to a record of RON 394 billion as of December 2016. Client deposits at banks recorded strong 12% YoY growth to nearly RON 333 billion with government and household deposits increasing most quickly. By contrast, the outstanding client loans increased only by fraction in 2016 and reached RON 231 billion. This was a consequence of a continued contraction in corporate lending and a still slow growth in retail loans. One of most encouraging trends recently has been the falling ratio of non-performing loans which has halved since 2014. Banking sector has also made a significant progress in reducing currency risk as the share of outstanding loans denominated in foreign currency has fallen substantially, in particular in case of corporate and mortgage loans.

In the mid-term, a fast growth in wages and falling unemployment will support increases in banking volumes, in particular within retail segment. The recently underperforming corporate lending is likely to rebound in 2017 and to grow fast in 2018/2019. This will be the effect of stable interest rates, increasing liquidity in the banking sector and growing investment needs of corporate clients. Following favourable trends in key segments, total banking assets are expected to advance at ca. 7% p.a. through 2019.

For more information on recent developments in the Romanian banking sector, please refer to the publication “Banking Market in Romania, 2017” at:
http://www.inteliace.com/en/00158_Banking_market_in_Romania_2017.html

About The Report
“Banking Market in Romania 2017” is our compact publication about the banking sector in Romania. It describes the present market structure and recent trends in the market and also provides short-term estimates of key banking volumes through 2019.

About Inteliace Research
Inteliace Research is an independent consulting company that focuses on the financial markets in Central and Eastern Europe. Inteliace Research specializes in management consulting and custom research services, including market-entry strategies, product launches, and performance and benchmarking analyses.

During 2005–2017, Inteliace Research provided its products and services to more than 65 clients, including major CEE banks and several “The Banker” top world banks. To learn more about the company, visit Inteliace Research’s webpage: www.inteliace.com.

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Marcin Mazurek
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