Banks boost foreign assets by 1.2bn euros

Surprise in banks’ consolidated balance sheet: September
brought about a 1.2 billion-euro rise in foreign assets, with
analysts saying foreign currency released by the NBR could have
been “exported”. Foreign assets of commercial banks climbed to a
record 17.3 billion RON (4.13 billion euros) in September, up 43%
against August and a three-fold increase against the similar period
of last year, according to statistics of the NBR (National Bank of
Romania). In August, banks held foreign assets worth around 12
billion RON, with the rise by 5 billion RON (around 1.2 billion
euros) being similar to the estimated value of the amounts freed up
from minimum reserves required for on foreign currency liabilities
by the central bank at the end of August. The significant rise in
commercial banks’ foreign assets remains a surprise for economists.
They say this could be partially explained through placement on the
foreign market of money resulting from the reduction of the minimum
reserve requirements on foreign currency liabilities at the end of
August or through the outsourcing of a new portion of loans to
parent banks or to special financial vehicles. “A possible
explanation could be the reduction in the minimum reserve
requirements on foreign currency liabilities to the NBR. The money
released by the central bank could have been placed on the foreign
financial market,” says Lucian Anghel, chief economist of the
BCR.