Companies have fewer cash flow problems at the beginning of the year

Companies had fewer cash flow problems at the beginning of the year, with instances when debt instruments bounced - i.e. when banks did not find enough money in the accounts of holders to cover promissory notes, cheques, and bills of exchange - falling by 27% against the monthly average in 2009, to 570 million RON (around 140 million euros), according to data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania).

Analysts say companies are starting to have easier access to bank funding, and that the economy is showing signs of a rebound. This will gradually help unfreeze the market of bank payments, which saw a rapid deterioration last year. For instance, in October 2009, payment instruments worth over one billion RON bounced.

The amounts on bounced instruments were lower only back in October 2008, when the financial crisis first hit the Romanian market. At the time banks could not cover sums amounting to 496 million RON owed by account holders. Afterwards the number of payments declined rose steadily amid a drop in companies' turnovers. Around 96% of payment refusals are generated by companies.