Romania’s monetary policy interest rate, set at 6.25% back in May, continues to be the highest in the region despite the repeated cuts made by the National Bank of Romania.
Although the NBR has cut the interest rate to 4% in less than two years, it continues to be over six times higher than the one in the Czech Republic, and nearly double the Polish interest rate.
Romania’s Western neighbour Hungary also has a lower interest
rate, 5.25%, although at the end of 2008, Hungary’s interest rate
was close, at 10%, to Romania’s 10.25%.
Officials of central banks in the region resorted to cuts in order
to revive lending, amid the current international economic crisis.
Interest rates, at 0.7% in the Czech Republic, and at 3.5% in
Poland, are expected to remain unchanged until the beginning of
next year.
“In general, the interest rate cannot disregard the state of an
economy. The interest rate level is influenced by a series of
factors, among which economic development, the degree of savings,
and inflation. A comparison between Romania and the Czech Republic
reveals that the balance is tipped in the Czech Republic’s favour,
where all economic indicators perform better, as does the
loan/deposit ratio,” explains Lucian Anghel, BCR chief
economist.