The banking system in Romania – the largest funder of economy and society, ARB official says

Banks in Romania meet their role of financial intermediary in a share of 90%, in this context the local banking system is the largest funder of Romanian economy and society, said on Thursday in a press conference Florin Dănescu, CEO of the Romanian Banking Association (ARB).

“However great our expectations for the future may be, as well as past disappointments, I am convinced that it is easy to see that Romania has registered remarkable progress in these 25 years, partly due to the banking industry. The contribution of the banking system is even clearer as it is one of the few in Europe that has not requested nor received public money as support. That reveals a form of professionalism. Under these circumstances, banks in Romania, on their own, carry out their role as financial intermediary of the Romanian economy in a share of 90%, and remains the largest funder of Romanian economy and society,” Dănescu said.

The ARB official said Romania has a 32%, share of lending in the GDP, while the rate for non-performing loans (NPL) stands at 13%, after achieving, at some point, a 23% share.

According to the National Bank of Romania (BNR) statistics, by March 2016 there were 36 banks in Romania, of which 7 were foreign branches. Bank assets amounted to EUR 82 billion and 90.3% were assets of the institutions with foreign capital.