Lower key interest could have a rather limited impact, but a two percentage point cut in the CRR in lei could generate high liquidity on the market, and lead to an excess of some RON 2 billion (€0.47 bln), according to economists.
The monetary policy session of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) is scheduled for Wednesday, 4 February, when a decision will be made regarding the modification of key interest and CRR.
BNR is currently imposing on banks a CRR of 40 percent of their passives in foreign currency and 18 percent for national currency ones. The central bank’s benchmark rate is presently 10.25 percent, the highest level of all European Union members.
“I do not think that a low cut in the interest rate would have a great impact. Interests should be rather low for the economic environment to become attractive. This is especially true at the moment, as Romania could go into recession. Attractive interests are needed to stimulate companies to take out loans and develop their activities,” Gabor Hunya, analyst at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW), told Business Standard.
