Romanians save and borrow less than their neighbours

Romanians save and borrow the least of all the inhabitants of the states in the region, a survey by UniCredit group analysts reveals. The financial assets of Romanians amounted to some 682 euros/capita last year, nine times less than in the Czech Republic and eight times less than in Hungary. Bank accounts are the favourite instrument of saving for Romanians, with the financial assets deposited by individuals in banks being evaluated at approximately 10 billion euros in 2006. Second favourite saving option is the cash, followed by shares, insurance policies and investment funds. The survey, however, shows that the financial assets of the individuals will rise by more than 70% in the next three years, with mutual funds and insurance policies set to be the fastest-growing financial instruments. In ZIARUL FINANCIAR””s banking supplement that comes out today, bankers say that attracting funds from clients will be a challenge, after deposits were much slower to progress last year because of the slump in interests below inflation. The National Bank of Romania (NBR) announced early in February that it would attempt to correct the migration from savings to consumption. At the same time, most bankers are making reserved-pessimistic forecasts about profits for 2006, particularly because everyone is announcing investments in larger networks to get them closer to potential clients. The message to shareholders and analysts: “We””ll never see such a good period again,” considering the narrowing margins. Under the circumstances, Credit Suisse analysts think Erste Bank might see its plans with BCR disrupted, due to competition on the market. “It is expected that the foreign banks that already have a local history will be aggressive in protecting their already acquired market shares,” the most recent Credit Suisse analysis says. ZF