The volume of loans covered by the repayment moratorium was almost RON 41 billion (over EUR 8 bln) at the end of last year, accounting for 13.8% of the local banks' total portfolio.

However, the share of loans under moratorium decreased to 10% of the total loans as of now, according to Romania's National Bank (BNR) deputy governor Leonardo Badea, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Compared to the European average, a bigger share of loans was placed under moratorium in Romania - but in volume terms, the share of loans subject to the facility was lower than the average (meaning more small loans were subject to the facility).

Most of the loans (about 75%) were placed under moratorium due to the application of legislative initiatives (public moratorium). Still, a very important share (about a quarter) of the loans were placed under moratorium through specific programs designed by banks (private moratoriums).

"The banks understood the difficult general situation and became aware of the need to support the clientele affected in a real and brutal way by a shock that was impossible to anticipate," Badea commented.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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