Unkept promises and missed projects for banks in 2007

Last year, Andrei Burz Pinzaru, Manager of Deloitte Romania, said that the first mortgage titles will be available in 2007, but as it turns out, this might not be so even in 2008.

The government was late in passing laws for agricultural loans, allowing farmers to receive better loans, and banks to expand into a new business. “Rural financing is almost non-existent at present,” said Radu Negrea, General Secretary of the Romanian Bank Association (ARB).

Another black mark for banks relates to the delay of Biroul de Credit S.A. risk company failing to establish the scoring system needed to record payment histories of all clients, based not only on data provided by the banks or other loan agencies, but also on a score assigned by Biroul de Credit. This was to be the risk company’s third development phase, delayed by several banks reluctant to provide positive information on their clients, for fear of this being “snatched” by their competitors.

The Ombudsman is yet another project that started last year and will not be finalized in 2007, due to lack of trust among banks. Negrea indicated that such things are slow, and that the only thing that is certain is that the future institution will be financed by banks. Bogdan Baltazar, banking adviser, said that some banks are afraid of the authority of an Ombudsman.