Romanian Banks Reasses Credit Risks

In Romania, one of the poorest countries of Central and Eastern Europe, financial institutions are still struggling after a deep and painful recession; as for the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, financial institutions appear to be on the mend. Romania had a few years of 'bumper growth' due to cheap credit, but this came to an end after a real estate bubble burst last year, resulting the Romanian economy decreased by 7.1%. Romanian bankers say the real problem area are small and medium-sized businesses, whose struggle to repay their debts has been exacerbated by the public sector, failing to pay its bills on time. Luckily, Robert Rekkers (chief executive of 'Banca Transilvania', the largest Romanian bank) stays optimistic, he said it's a tough time, but the Romanian banking system is in a good position to weather the storm!

The Financial Times

Nicolas Pollet