The lending growth pace is slowing down, and the macro-prudential measures taken in 2018 by the National Bank of Romania (BNR), with effect since 2019, represent the main deterrent, Governor of the Central Bank Mugur Iasarescu told on Monday a press conference.
"Lending is growing in nominal terms below GDP growth. In other words, we can hardly add it to the aggregate demand supplement that pushes upwards the adjusted CORE2 inflation, so the one we can control. It is an important factor with regard to the aggregate demand, but if it increases below the nominal GDP growth, that is the real GDP plus inflation, we can hardly say that lending is an inflationary factor. Our opinion, and especially my opinion, is that macro-prudential measures that we took at the end of last year starting this year is the main factor that discouraged lending," said Mugur Isarescu.
He mentioned that the current situation convinced the Central Bank that "to press more on the monetary policy rate to curb the growth of aggregate demand is not the most appropriate measure" and for this reason other monetary policy instruments "are being pressed on."
The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania adopted, in October last year, a Regulation for the modification of credit terms. According to the document, the maximum level of the debt ratio is 40 percent of the net income for loans in lei and 20 percent for those in foreign currency as of January 1, 2019, while for the loans related to the purchase of the first home, the maximum indebtedness rate is increased by 5 percentage points.