Ghetea: High income clients will be able to borrow more

The elimination of restrictions imposed by the NBR for lending to individuals will allow clients with high incomes to obtain larger real estate loans, while clients with lower incomes will be able to get higher limits on their credit cards, believes Radu Ghetea, chairman of the Romanian Banking Association (ARB). On the other hand, he says that for clients with low incomes, the effects will be marginal, since banks will continue to take into account their debt capacity. Ghetea believes big banks, with a lot of experience in retail and with important client portfolios will be able to afford to be more aggressive when it comes to lending, since they will be able to build credible models of client evaluation. Banks with no experience in the retail area will not have the force to sustain aggressive crediting norms before the NBR,” comments Ghetea. After the publication of the new lending regulation for individuals, which includes the elimination of borrowing limits currently imposed, commercial banks will have to build their own norms, which will have to be approved by the NBR’s Supervisory Department.