Romania is only country in region where loans exceed deposits

The Romanian banking system is the only one in the region where deposits failed to fully cover credits granted, which accounted for only 94% of deposits in 2007, according to a research report conducted by the Raiffeisen Group. Out of the ten countries included in the report, Romania ranks last in terms of the degree to which credits are covered by deposits, and is the only country where loans exceed savings. “The indicator deteriorated even further in the second half of this year, as a result of the fast growth of lending. In June, deposits merely covered 90% of granted loans, but banks have another major source of financing: parent banks,” said Georgiana Constantinescu, analyst with Credit Europe Bank. In Slovenia, the population’s banking deposits were twice as high as credits, while in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, they are 1.7 times higher. Countries ranking just above “sea level” in terms of the deposits/credits indicator are Hungary, Ukraine and Poland, where the population’s bank savings were slightly higher than loans.