Credit demand still not showing signs of revival

The population and economic operators continue to be reserved when it comes to taking out a loan, with the number of requests submitted to banks having settled at around 120,000, despite relaxation signals from the Romanian central bank (NBR), according to NBR data. In May, the number of queries sent to the Central Credit Register (CRB) of the NBR by banks, which use this to check prospective clients, was 122,333, a similar level to that recorded in March and April – almost 8 times less than in May 2008. The CRB is the specialised department of the NBR, which manages data related to banking system risks. “The steep decline in the number of queries to the CRB is the result of the decline in credit demand amid a rise in the cost of lending over the last few quarters. It also has to do with clients’ worsened expectations, the shift in the people’s behaviour towards savings, and with commercial banks’ tougher lending terms,” said Melania Hancila, chief-economist of Volksbank.