* The new taxation measures are forcing banks to search for new solutions to attract customers, after raising their interest rates as a first step

* The payment of the interest rate in advance, one of the solutions used to compensate the effect of the taxation of earnings from bank deposits

Loan brokers say that banks must look for solutions to attract funds from customers, after the new taxation measures introduced by the Government. Liviu Andrei, the manager of Alliance Finance Broker, said: "Banks need to come up with solutions to keep their customers interested in bank deposits".

Some banks have already launched promotional offers intended to compensate the taxation of earnings from bank deposits, such as the payment of the interest in advance, upon creation of the term deposit. "I am sure that banks will come up with other tempting offers to attract and keep the savings of the population", Liviu Andrei says.

After the introduction of the new tax, banks were forced to slightly raise the interest rates. The revision of the inflation target following the modification of the VAT to 24%, will have a greater impact on the interest rates offered to customers for their deposits, the broker considers.

Ruxandra Andrei, the manager of "FinZoom" said that the raise of the VAT does not directly affect the interest rates on deposits, but rather their true return, i.e. whether they beat the inflation rate or not.

She mentioned that a very important aspect is the automatic correlation between the price at which liquidity is purchased (interest rates offered on deposits) and the one at which liquidity is sold (interest rates for loans). "As a result, the promotional interest rates offered on deposits will most definitely influence the interest rates charged for loans", says Ruxandra Andrei.

Radu Graţian Gheţea, the president of the Roma