An increase in interest rates for euros is being considered by several banks in order to maintain profitability now that refinancing costs are higher. In addition, bankers also anticipate a rise in the price of RON loans, especially if the National Bank (NBR) increases the interest rate to counter inflationary pressures. Moreover, even the parent banks have started to make funding for their Romanian branches more expensive, or in some cases even scale it down.

"Unfortunately, I don't think that loans in euros will be the only ones affected by a rate increase soon, but also loans in RON. I am sure there will be difficult situations especially for those who have got themselves into debt up to their maximum capacity, or for those who took advantage of the lack of financial background checks for positive (credit history) information and borrowed above the 40% cap," Cristian Nae, product manager with the Retail Division of OTP Bank told ZIARUL FINANCIAR.

Catalin Parvu, Piraeus Bank's general manager for retail banking and operations, believes a "slight increase of 1% on the costs of a loan" could be taken into account for the entire market, but does not feel that it would have much of a negative impact on the clients' financial situations.

"Considering financing in euros for the banking market is largely provided by the parent banks of the subsidiaries in Romania, and that we are witnessing an increase in the price of loans, it is obvious that this will have repercussions for the end beneficiaries of loans," Parvu says.

Sergiu Oprescu, the chief executive of Alpha Bank says that the interest rate for loans offered by the bank is indexed at an internationally traded rate and sees no reason to modify the margins added to that particular rate.

"If the EURIBOR (the international euro reference rate) rises, considering the delayed moment at wh