Van Groningen concerned about potential corporate rather than individual clients' late payments

Steven van Groningen, president of Raiffeisen Bank, the seventh largest bank on the Romanian market in terms of assets, is more concerned about companies’ prospective late payments cumulated over time than about individuals falling behind with their payments.
“Whilst the risk is relatively stable and predictable on the individual segment, although we are expecting the unemployment rate to continue to rise, there could be doubt about the corporate clients segment, because amounts are higher and you cannot restructure again and again,” van Groningen told ZF at an event organised by Business Review magazine.
Banks’ exposure to loans granted to corporate entities amounts to around 129 billion RON (32 billion euros).
As far as the market is concerned, loans included in the “loss” category, i.e. those that are 100% provisioned for, amount to 22.8 billion RON (5.7 billion euros), according to data from the NBR for the end of last year. A year ago, in January 2009, loans rated as “loss” stood at less than half of the value recorded in December, i.e. 10.3 billion RON (2.4 billion euros).