NBR makes unscheduled inspections in banks

The National Bank of Romania (NBR) is inspecting banks, turning up even on unscheduled “visits”, says Nicolae Cinteza, head of the NBR’s Supervision Department. He says if any irregularities are found, the NBR applies very tough sanctions, which can go as far as replacing bank managers. “One such change has already occurred. It depends on what we find in our inspections, be they even unscheduled ones,” Nicolae Cinteza, who, for the last decade, has known all the banks’ secrets. NBR inspectors started an extensive campaign of inspections at commercial banks back in the summer, according to market information. These inspections generally look into whether prudential norms on lending have been met or not, as well as into the accuracy of banks’ reports to the NBR. Depending on the size of the bank, inspections can last from a few days to a few weeks, with inspectors making controls both at headquarters and at territorial branches. Cinteza says the latest available data, August data, found no major problems in the overall banking system.