The National Bank of Romania (BNR) released its monthly bulletin on Friday, January 10, which also includes figures referring to loan payment delays. 3.6 billion euros are arrears that borrowers have with banks and non-financial corporations.
1 billion euros are debts on loans in euros, 1 billion euros are debts on loans made in lei and 0.6 billion euros were made up of loans in US dollars or other currencies, the central bank data also shows.
Most of the arrears were in the category of “over 90 days late” or had already reached the debt “collectors”. Arrears of more than 30 days recorded by individuals are reported by the Credit Bureau based on data provided by credit institutions and non-bank financial institutions participating in the Credit Bureau System.
Within these reports, the outstanding amount recorded by the Credit Bureau represents the value of the outstanding debt (principal, interest and penalty interest) related to the respective loan, expressed in the loan currency, the National Bank reported.
“The pandemic has made things much worse. There were people who had taken out loans before the pandemic and then lost their jobs and started to struggle to repay their loans,” an official from the Central Bank explained to HotNews, on condition of anonymity.