Investors take loans to trade stocks

The significant growth of the shares on the Stock Exchange has made some investors turn to the special loans, granted by banks that also own a brokerage company, in order to fund their acquisitions on the capital market. Credit for investments in securities had become part of the range of products offered by banks, after more and more investors began using personal loans, in the hope of making more money on the Stock Exchange than the interest they have to pay to the bank. The SMART line of credit, dedicated to Stock Exchange acquisitions, launched by Libra Bank and the brokerage company Vanguard, topped the RON equivalent of one million dollars (over 0.8 million euros) at the end of January. The lending product was launched at the beginning of October, with Vanguard”s management stating that the total value of loans granted over the last three months alone exceeded one million dollars, and the number of customers applying for the product topped 30. In order to be granted the line of credit, applicants must pledge the shares they own as collateral. ZF