Bankers: We are hanging on to our real estate assets

Several representatives of banks such as UniCredit Tiriac,
Raiffeisen and BCR said on Friday at a seminar on the real estate
market that they would not put up for sale real estate properties
at low prices because they do not have liquidity problems, and do
not need to sell. However, Radu Ghetea, chairman of CEC Bank and of
the Romanian Banking Association, says this is not possible because
banks are not “factories” that can keep properties in their
portfolio, and theirs is a different type of business. “The banking
community is interested in finding new solutions so as not to
resort to foreclosures. However, the provision system is set up in
such a way that some banks could have to move to foreclosures
unless the system is modified. If they resort to foreclosure
against their clients, banks will have to sell the properties. What
are banks? Factories? Never ever,” said Radu Ghetea, chairman of
CEC Bank and of the Romanian Banking Association. Some bankers seem
to have a different opinion, despite the fact that many banks have
tens of homes for sale, which are difficult to sell, even at 25%
discounts.