Less ROL in banks, fewer credits

Will the banks have less ROL available for credits in the future? Will the bankers have one more thing to worry about, i.e. how to get the resources so badly needed to boost lending? Just looking at the figures, as they are now, the answer is yes. The latest official data show that, whereas the ROL lending rose by 5.4% in April, people’s savings kept by the banking system progressed five times slower, that is by 1.1%. The companies deposited even smaller amounts of ROL with the banks – the deposits of the economic operators went up only 0.6% in April.

Is this reason enough for banks to start worrying if the trend maintains? Definitely yes. Considering the main lending source is made up of the funds attracted from individuals or legal entities, the drop in interests on the banking deposits in ROL, much too abrupt early in the year, seems to have backfired.

So what is there to be done? Most bankers say the interests will probably increase again slightly, solutions to boost saving will be sought and the competition will become even fiercer.

“The substantial growth in the non-governmental ROL lending in the first four months of this year (more than 25%), primarily witnessed by the retail segment (58%), undoubtedly occurred amid the stagnation of savings and negative net foreign cash flows: the people’s savings and the ROL deposits gained only 4.3% in nominal terms, that is in line with inflation,” said Claudiu Cercel, head of the market operations department at BRD-SocGen.

Cercel believes supporting the progress of the ROL lending, which is what the central bank wants, after all, will be more difficult to do without cutting the minimal mandatory reserves, all the more so since “the sustained resumption of savings against the current consumption frenzy is unlikely, and substantial net inflows of foreign capital as additional sources are uncertain.”

oana.nuta@zf.ro