Mortgage loans will increase this year, whereas consumer loans will drop, according to estimates of the Romanian Banking Association (ARB).

“Non-government credit growth was relatively low in 2016. In 2017, we are ready to lend. There is an abundance of liquidity in the system,” said Sergiu Oprescu, ARB president, reports local Mediafax. He added that the level of domestic savings is high.

“Given the macroeconomic growth we see a higher aggregate demand from companies. As for the population, we see an increase in mortgage lending and a decline in consumer credit,” he said.

The growth engine for the mortgage loan segment was the First House program while the demand for classic mortgage loans has been low. The rate of non-performing loans decreased 2.3 times in 2016 compared to 2014. The NPL rate reached 9.9% last year, namely 8.1% on the retail segment and 20.2% in the case of small and medium-sized companies.

editor@romania-insider.com