This is the highest growth rate in the past 10 months, due to the depreciation of the leu, and because September was the last month before new lending rules went into effect, aimed at curbing loans and lowering risks for both lenders and the population. The increase comes after two months of tempered growth.
Overall lending, both in lei and foreign currency, rose 5.7 percent month-on- month, up to €52 billion.
“Romanians rushed to borrow money from banks, as they were expecting lending restrictions due to the new rules,” Romania’s National Bank (BNR) Chief Economist Valentin Lazea told Business Standard.
“The monthly advance of lending in foreign currency of 8.7 percent [for both individuals and companies] is due to the depreciation of the leu to RON 3.7336/€1 at the end of September, and Romanians borrowing money before the new rules were applied. The growth in euro equivalent is 3 percent compared to the past month, and the remaining 5.7 percent is the influence of the national currency depreciation,” Raiffeisen Bank Romania’s Head of Macroeconomic Research, Ionut Dumitru, told Business Standard.
