The evolution of the exchange rate and successive rises in key interest rates has influenced banking business, as clients have become more reticent. Marinel Burduja, First Vice President of Raiffeisen Bank, estimates a 20-30 percent increase in assets this year.
The top three banks, except Banca Romana de Dezvoltare (BRD), to publish their results on Monday, have posted a modest increase in assets, of up to 4 percent in the first half of the year, compared to H1 2007 results. Austrian-owned Volksbank, one of the top five banks, had the highest rise in assets, of €1 billion, in one year.
