Many banks with less than 1% market share remain in the red

The portfolios of small banks, with market shares of less than 1% of the market's overall balance sheet assets, continued to see a fast deterioration in the first quarter of this year, so the ratio of loans rated as doubtful and loss exceeded 33%, according to bank sources.

No less than 22 banks fall into that category, which in fact generate the bulk of losses in the banking system. The ratio of loans rated as "loss" is almost double for the category of small banks compared with that of banks with market shares between 1% and 5%, which amounted to around 17.5% at the end of March.

The market average, which is slightly over 17%, is boosted by the eight big banks, with above 5% market share, which have the biggest loan portfolios, so the rise in the number of non-performing loans is not as apparent as in the case of the other players.

In the first quarter of the year, the small banks category was the only one in the red, whilst medium-sized and big banks managed to accumulate enough profit to see the overall market in the black - an almost 440 million-RON (105 million-euro) net profit.