“There is a cost increase for lei financing, especially due to the rise in monetary policy interest,” Ghetea said. He added that this increase will not last much longer, as Romania prepares to join the euro zone, as of 2012. The ARB President believes that banks are preoccupied with lowering costs, by cutting interest and fees, to fend off the competition.
Ghetea added that costs for personal loans have dropped, but are still high compared to the rest of the European Union, because Romania is “an emerging nation, that joined the EU recently, and whose inflation and current account deficit make themselves felt from time to time.”
He added that banks cannot agree with the recommendations of the central bank to limit personal loans, because they must sustain their business by expanding products and services.
