Interest rates for euro loans up 25 percent due to leu depreciation

Furthermore, the Euribor interest reached a 14-year high, up to 5.345 percent, amid international financial crisis. Euribor is used to calculate variable interest rates .

Of the total funds borrowed by individuals and companies, more than half are euro loans, amounting to €28.4 billion.
"There will be problems for those who took relaxed loans last year. A client who borrowed money last year in August pays an extra 20 percent due to RON depreciation alone, to which interest rate increases are added," Raiffeisen Bank's head of Macroeconomic Research, Ionut Dumitru, told Business Standard.

The current international environment also led to a 5.38 percent decline in stock market indexes, due to the belief that country risk is increasing. "Obviously, massive depreciation of Romanian shares has several reasons - elections year, inflation pressures, macroeconomic conditions, economic perspectives, emerging country, cumulated with events on foreign financial markets. All these led to this unprecedented and unjustified decline," according to BRD Securities Deputy General Manager Tudor Cernica. He added a stock market revival is unlikely on the short run. "I personally hope for stabilization," Cernica said.
Romania's National Bank (BNR) Governor Mugur Isarescu said the central bank is ready for any scenarios and that "lenders are convinced that they have to be cautious." Following a meeting with Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, Isarescu added BNR will have interventions on the currency market "only when and with how much is necessary".

On the other hand, Tariceanu said Romania would take "measures similar to those in EU countries, in case of emergency."