Around 76 percent of Romanians would prefer to stay away from banks, while less than half of bank clients trust the lenders, found a poll conducted by Romanian surveyor IRES. Thus, 76 percent of respondents said they would prefer to have little interaction with banks, while 90 percent said bank-client relations usually favor the banks. Furthermore, 89 percent of interviewees believe people are not paying attention when signing contracts with banks.

IRES polled 1,436 people, aged over 18 and living in urban areas. Only 3 percent of banking service users have very high confidence in banks, while 41 percent said they trust banks, 40 percent said they have little faith in banks and 13 percent said they have very little faith.

Criteria applied by clients when choosing a loan include the interest rate 64 percent, approval speed 41 percent and the maximum amount that can be borrowed 29 percent, according to the survey. Regarding savings, 39 percent percent of respondents said they are able to set aside money.

Mediafax