The growth of late instalments slowed down abruptly in October,with their value climbing by just 237 million RON last month, fivetimes less than in September and August.
Individuals and companies had late instalments worth 15.9billion RON (the equivalent of 3.7 billion euros) at the end ofOctober, accounting for 7.64% of the overall volume of loansgranted by banks, show data from the NBR (National Bank ofRomania).
The rate of growth of late instalments slowed down after thethird quarter saw a new wave of non-performing loans, especiallyamid a 25% reduction of public sector wages, but analysts believeone cannot talk about there being less pressure on banks' loanportfolio, considering that the economy is not yet showing signs ofrebound.
"We cannot talk about a sustainable reduction in lateinstalments before an economic rebound is felt. While up until midthis year the rise of late payments was mainly generated by theunemployment rise, now we are dealing with the effects of theprolonged recession after austerity measures were implemented,"comments Lucian Anghel, chief economist of the BCR.
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