“The population’s situation has worsened, and the level of dissatisfaction continues to grow. Over 28 percent of the population has no faith in banks, said Eugen Dijmărescu, President of FGDB.
The FGDB study further shows that Romania have faith in investments in real estate goods and precious metals, but consider investments in private pensions, simple life insurance, shares and art objects to be unsafe. Bank deposits are believed by Romanians to be relatively safe.
“Faith in the financial and banking system is powerfully correlated with the savings trend. Those who are certain that they will manage to save in the coming 12 months are also those who have stronger faith in lending institutions, while Romanians who are unsure if they will save have more moderate faith. Persons who declared that they will not save have little faith in banks,” said the FGDB study.
Romanians save an average RON 328 per month, while 5 percent of these declared that they managed to save more money in the past year. The study further indicates that 37 percent of Romanians save less in 2009 than the year before.
According to FGDB data, the total value of deposits at the end of September was RON 262.8 billion (€62 bln), of which 48 percent are deposits guaranteed by the Fund, or RON 126.13 bln (€29.76 bln). At the end of the first three quarters, there were over 17.3 million depositors, individuals and corporate, with FGDB guaranteed loans.
“When choosing a bank, the most important factor is interest rates, guarantees offered by the respective bank, the size of commissions charged, and faith in the bank. Intentions to save in the coming year are merely minor corrections in the current savings behaviour, with a slight rise in intention to save more through euro and lei-denominated deposits,” said the FGDB study.
