Romanian banks collected RON 10 billion (EUR 2 billion) interest in Q1/2023 for loans in their portfolios, 80% more compared to Q1/2022, according to data from the National Bank of Romania (BNR) consulted by Ziarul Financiar.

The substantial increase reflects the larger portfolio of loans, but mostly the high levels of interest (ROBOR and IRCC).

ROBOR 3M was 7.10% on average in Q1/2023, almost double the average in Q1/2022 of 3.65%. The new IRCC index for new retail loans denominated in RON and issued after 2019 also increased, reaching 5.71% in Q1/2023, still lagging behind ROBOR.

As for the banks' expenses with the interest paid on deposits, they reached RON 4.2 bln in Q1/2023, up by almost 280% y/y on low base effects.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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