Cosma, Banca Romaneasca: Loan demand is slightly picking up

Funding demand is recovering at a moderate pace on the
corporate segment, says Crina Cosma, general manager of Banca
Romaneasca, the Romanian subsidiary of National Bank of Greece
(NBG) Greek financial group. “In terms of lending, we’ve budgeted
increases this year, but moderate ones, as the absorption capacity
is also low,” says Crina Cosma. Loans granted in Romania slipped 5%
in 2009, to 2bn euros, according to the results NBG published in
Athens. The decline was steeper on the retail segment, where the
volume fell by 7%, to 957m euros, as the bank almost exclusively
focused on mortgage financing, being an active participant in the
“First Home” programme. On the corporate segment, the volume
registered marginal variations, going down to 1.1bn euros. “We have
sufficient funds for lending. The local deposit base is solid, and
securing funding for Romania is not a problem for NBG group as it
has surplus cash,” says Cosma. Attracted deposits went up by 39%
last year, to one billion euros.