Over 50% people not dealing with banks

Only 36% of Romania’s population have a stable relation with a bank, which makes the Romanian market lag behind even Russia or Ukraine, where the share of population “drawn” to the banking system is above 40%, a survey by GfK market research company highlights. This means huge growth potential, though short-term prospects are nothing spectacular. Albeit 62% of the people in Romania have nothing to do with a bank, 84% of this segment have no intention whatsoever of becoming a client of the banking system over the next 12 months. “This is a realistic picture of what’s going on on the Romanian market,” Radu Gratian Ghetea, chairman of the Romanian Association of Banks (ARB) said during a conference on the retail market organised by Finmedia on Tuesday. A GfK poll in April was showing 80% of the respondents felt it was not a good time for savings. Patrick Gelin, general manager of Banca Romana pentru Dezvoltare (Romanian Development Bank – BRD) says he has noticed a slight slowdown of the deposits growth pace lately. He added this was a recent phenomenon to be confirmed or not over a longer period of time. ZF