Foreigners' deposits total 3.4bn euros

Foreigners’ medium and long-term deposits in Romanian banks increased almost 4 times between November 2006 and November 2007. The level of such deposits reached an all time high of 3.73 billion euros in November last year, according to data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania). In November alone foreigners’ medium and long-term deposits climbed 229 million euros, i.e. just over 7%. NBR data does not include short-term deposits. Although sums placed by foreign investors were almost 4 times as high in November 2006, the debt service (the interest rate paid by the local banks) cumulated in the first 11 months of the year was much lower in 2007 than in 2006. The debt service stood at 171 million euros last year, compared with 321 million euros in the first 11 months of 2006.