How alarming banking system losses really are

Sometimes in the black, other times in the red, this has been the trend of the banking system over the past two years, judging by Romanian accounting standards. From 20 banks that ended 2009 in the red, the number rose to 22 in 2010.
On the other hand, most banks report figures calculated in line with international standards, which as a matter of fact will be adopted by the entire market starting January 1, 2012, and continued to report profits.
The central bank does not seem to be worried by the image of RAS losses, either, considering lending institutions' solvency remains comfortable (14.6%).
During the two years of recession, also marked by the bad public image of the sector, bankers have had many dilemmas: if they reported profit, they risked being accused of generating it at the expense of clients' bankruptcy, if they reported plummeting profit, they risked being accused of management flaws and weak risk management, if they reported losses they risked seeing their clients with deposits flee.
It remains to be seen how the image of the banking systems' soundness will change next year, once international reporting standards come into effect.