Libra Bank succeeded in keeping its liquidity and lending under control last year, Emilian Bituleanu, the General Manager of Libra Bank said in an interview. He added that even in the tough economic environment of 2010, the bank succeeded in consolidating its position in the niche it is placed in. Out of the liberal professions that the bank is targeting, the best results came from the customers in the medical sector, according to the General Manager of Libra Bank.

Reporter: What was the year 2010 like for Libra Bank?

Emilian Bituleanu: Even though 2010 was not a favorable year for the banking sector, as it was influenced by the unstable economic climate, Libra Bank performed well, I would even say very well, successfully consolidating its position in the niche that it operates in. Essentially, we can say that we easily weathered a crisis year, and we were able to keep lending and liquidity under control, without the need for any foreign support and without overdoing it when it comes to rescheduling loan payments. Even on the risk ratios side, which are published periodically by the NBR, we performed within the accepted parameters. We also succeeded in keeping our customers, as well as attracting new ones, especially major ones.

We continued to create new products, and under the slogan "Next Level Internet Banking", we launched the "Access Investigator" product, being the first Romanian bank that launched a product used for online economic and legal investigation, thus streamlining the business decision-making process for our customers.

Reporter: Libra Bank is a bank of liberal professions. Which category of liberal professions used the bank"s financial services the most last year? What are the services which they used?

Emilian Bituleanu: Out of our entire portfolio, the medical sector is the one that constantly gi