Some 37.5 percent of loans granted to Romanians are cause for concern for bankers, as these are facing risks. Supplementary provisions mean lower profit for lenders.
“The most important issues are related to the real economy. The state has become one of the largest debtors to the real sector, affected by a rise in interest rates and the depreciation of the national currency. Overdue loans will continue to rise, and the level of provisions will double year-on-year in 2009,” said Dan Pascariu, Chairman of the Surveillance Council of UniCredit Tiriac Bank.
The Governor of the Bank of Greece, George Provopoulos, warned Greek banks to carefully analyze risks before granting loans in countries in Eastern Europe, including Romania, according to the Financial Times. However, Greek banks registered one of the sharpest growth rates in terms of assets in Romania.
