Portrait of a typical Romanian defaulter

The consumer loan continues to be subject to the greatest share of individual arrears. “The value of arrears rose 14 percent in January compared to December, but there is a calming share of arrears in terms of total loans, of some 1.5 percent. This is a regional trend,” Epure said.

The value of arrears registered by individuals and companies amounted to €824 million in January, and bankers forecast a substantial increase in arrears due to the depreciation of the leu and the high cost of loans.

An increase in the number of defaulters forces bankers to set provisions, double the pace in 2008, which means a lower profit or even losses for some lenders.
However, some banks want to gain market share in times of crisis.

“We will not freeze lending, we want to raise our market share. We are willing to finance any project which is well-structured, including in infrastructure,” said Lucian Anghel, Chief Analyst of the Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) market leader in terms of assets.