Mortgages and consumer loans resume growth

Mortgage volumes climbed in May by 2.92% month-on-month, returning to growth, in RON-denominated values, for the first time since January, according to NBR data. Annual growth accelerated at the same time, to 34.5%, from a little above 32% in April. Consumer loans in late May registered a 0.57% increase, after their volume had dropped by 1.1% in April month-on-month. Against May 2008, total consumer loan volumes climbed by 18.2%, below the pace posted in April. Lending is set to mainly focus on secured products to counter risks across the entire system. The overall amount of consumer loans in May stood at 74.5bn RON, around 11.5bn RON above the level registered in the same period of last year. Bankers explain the slower performance of the consumer segment by the fact that only a small part of products on this segment involve guarantees, being thus the one generating the biggest losses suffered by banks.