Bank Deposits Guarantee Fund has too little money in its account

The Bank Deposits Guarantee Fund will have to have access to revenues collected from privatisation, worth 11.6 billion RON (equivalent to 2.8 billion euros), which are left in the state Treasury’s central bank account, in order to improve its bank deposit coverage, a solution included in the agreement signed by the authorities with the IMF. “In order to further strengthen the Bank Deposits Guarantee Fund, and to have it meet the best international practices and the demands that need to be adopted in line with EU requirements, the Guarantee Fund will supplement its existing funding by having access to privatisation revenues held in the Treasury’s account with the NBR (National Bank of Romania),” reads the letter of intent signed by the Romanian authorities. The Guarantee Fund needs additional resources amid a heightened coverage limit for individuals’ deposits, to a sum equivalent to 50,000 euros. The same limit is planned for introduction this summer in the case of deposits set up by corporate entities. In the context of the crisis, the Fund has become a pillar of credibility for the banking system, which needs to attract as large amounts as possible from depositors.