Bogza: Foreign banks have a competitive edge

The restrictions imposed on commercial banks by the NBR are a disadvantage in the face of increasingly bitter competition from Non-Bank Financial Institutions and from foreign banks, which are not regulated by the central bank, according to Mihai Bogza, chairman of Bancpost. “This year, we expect to witness strong competition from Non-Bank Financial Institutions that do not have to comply with the same number of restrictions as commercial banks. Banking institutions based abroad and registered with the NBR, which do not fall into the scope of local restrictions, will also be major competitors for Romanian banks,” said Bogza, who added that, although banks based outside Romania were not yet active on the market, they had a competitive edge on the segment of funding municipalities, as well as medium-sized and large corporations. Banks’ “frantic” territorial expansion is another area of vulnerability in the banking system, believes the Bancpost representative.