Why some banks pay high interests on deposits when RON are cheap on the market

Those who look at bank’s offers for RON-denominated deposits can easily find interests of 8% and even 9% a year, especially from small players, although on the inter-bank monetary market interest rates have stabilised around 3-4% a year, so theoretically RON should be cheap.

The as yet high level of bank interests – both on deposits and on loans – has been repeatedly criticised, including by governor Mugur Isarescu. Theoretically banks should pay lower interest rates for clients’ deposits than the NBR’s monetary policy rate – currently at 6.5% a year.

Bankers say they keep interest rates to clients high in an attempt to secure their clients’ loyalty, especially since there are players with growth ambitions on the market, which need to consolidate their portfolio. Dealers say there are also technical reasons involved – not all banks can borrow as much as they need from the market, so they are forced to pay more, in order to attract money from commercial clients.