The growth of late instalments slowed down abruptly in October, with their value climbing by just 237 million RON last month, five times less than in September and August.
Individuals and companies had late instalments worth 15.9 billion RON (the equivalent of 3.7 billion euros) at the end of October, accounting for 7.64% of the overall volume of loans granted by banks, show data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania).
The rate of growth of late instalments slowed down after the third quarter saw a new wave of non-performing loans, especially amid a 25% reduction of public sector wages, but analysts believe one cannot talk about there being less pressure on banks' loan portfolio, considering that the economy is not yet showing signs of rebound.
"We cannot talk about a sustainable reduction in late instalments before an economic rebound is felt. While up until mid this year the rise of late payments was mainly generated by the unemployment rise, now we are dealing with the effects of the prolonged recession after austerity measures were implemented," comments Lucian Anghel, chief economist of the BCR.
The growth of late instalments slowed down abruptly in October, with their value climbing by just 237 million RON last month, five times less than in September and August.
Individuals and companies had late instalments worth 15.9 billion RON (the equivalent of 3.7 billion euros) at the end of October, accounting for 7.64% of the overall volume of loans granted by banks, show data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania).
The rate of growth of late instalments slowed down after the third quarter saw a new wave of non-performing loans, especially amid a 25% reduction of public sector wages, but analysts believe one cannot talk about there being less pressure on banks' loan portfolio, considering that the economy is not yet showing s