A quartet of international banking groups are to help Romania with USD denominated bond issue, according to news agency Reuters. An unnamed source, who is described as “away from the deal” by Davide Scigliuzzo of Reuters today (November 29 ), said that Barclays, HSBC, BNP Paribas and Citigroup were hired by Romania for the bond issue. The deal is “likely to be next year's business,” according to Reuters.

So far Romania's Finance Ministry has made no official statement, neither confirming nor denying the report.

Over the next two years around EUR 13 billion in debt will be due to various different groups, including maturing bonds and a hefty chunk to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “If Romania fails to attract new funding from foreign and private markets and does not absorb more money from European funds, the Central Bank's international reserves could fall rapidly. Foreign credibility is crucial to ensure private access to foreign markets,” said President of Romania's Fiscal Council Ionuţ Dumitru previously.

editor@romania-insider.com