Non-government credit sees surprising slowdown

Private lending saw a surprising slowdown in July, the first decline since January 2007, amid a significant slowdown in foreign-currency lending. Sums saved by the population and by companies in banks also saw a decline last month. The slowdown in foreign-currency credit is partially caused by a statistical distortion, with the volume expressed in RON by the NBR (National Bank of Romania) being also influenced by the significant appreciation of the RON during the course of July. Expressed in RON, non-government credit granted in foreign currencies was down 1.5% in July, amid a 3% decline in the RON/EUR exchange rate against the end of June. In euros, the volume would have climbed 1.6%, however, much slower than in June, when the increase stood at 4.3%.