Many banks with less than 1% market share remain in the red

The portfolios of small banks, with market shares of less than
1% of the market’s overall balance sheet assets, continued to see a
fast deterioration in the first quarter of this year, so the ratio
of loans rated as doubtful and loss exceeded 33%, according to bank
sources.
No less than 22 banks fall into that category, which in fact
generate the bulk of losses in the banking system. The ratio of
loans rated as “loss” is almost double for the category of small
banks compared with that of banks with market shares between 1% and
5%, which amounted to around 17.5% at the end of March.
The market average, which is slightly over 17%, is boosted by
the eight big banks, with above 5% market share, which have the
biggest loan portfolios, so the rise in the number of
non-performing loans is not as apparent as in the case of the other
players.
In the first quarter of the year, the small banks category was
the only one in the red, whilst medium-sized and big banks managed
to accumulate enough profit to see the overall market in the black
– an almost 440 million-RON (105 million-euro) net profit.