Business Review

With banks trying to revive lending activity, promotions for some of the credits in their portfolio have become a strong marketing tool meant to give impetus to the local market. Meanwhile, lenders intend to alleviate Romanians’ fear of finding themselves unable to repay their loans as a result of reduced purchasing power and insecure employment prospects.

Anda Sebesi

Public sector wages are cut 25 percent, while pensions and unemployment benefits are slashed by 15 percent. The Romanian government is taking drastic measures to reduce the budget deficit.

The rising unemployment rate and companies’ liquidity needs are the main engine of growth in the debt collection market. According to players the market is predicted to reach EUR 915 million this year, double last year’s value. Specialized company officials told Business Review that while firms make up the majority of their portfolio, the demand from individuals is constantly increasing.

Dana Ciuraru

With restructuring activity one of the significant issues for lenders in Romania, the local banking sector is awaiting the recovery of lending to breathe fresh life into the market. The demand for credit still exists and will continue to do so, and the economic turmoil is nothing more than a challenging period, say specialists.

Anda Sebesi

Having made its entrance on the local market last year, CIG Romania has big plans in Romania for the years to come. As Zefir Castris, general manager of CIG Romania, told Business Review, the company intends to double its number of agencies in about three to five years and to become profitable in the next five to seven.

Anda Dragan

With lenders continuing to adopt a very cautious strategy for the Romanian market this year, their focus will be on sustainable growth and a prudent approach to lending activity. Business Review surveys some of the key trends that are likely to emerge this year.

Anda Dragan

The personal bankruptcy bill making its way through Romania’s legal system has got a mixed reception. While some see it as a solution for the luckless Romanians hit hard by the current crisis and incapable of repaying their bank loans, other believe that the law doesn’t strike the right balance between the debtor and creditor, upsetting existing contractual understandings and threatening moral hazard.

Dana Ciuraru

Cosmin Vladimirescu, MasterCard Europe’s account manager for Romania, told Business Review about the current state of the local card market and its future perspectives. He also spoke about Romanians’ consumer behavior and the differences between the local and international card markets.

Anda Dragan

Now, more than ever, local lenders need to diversify their customer portfolio in order to amass new clients. Women seem to be a solution, as they are responsible for more than 80 percent of purchases, according to international statistics. While in other economies women are one of the main targets for marketers, for banks active in Romania they are still a niche but one with great potential for the future.

Anda Dragan

Despite 2009 being the first full year of crisis on the Romanian market, local lenders managed to post mostly positive results. But specialists expect 2010 to be less auspicious for them, making the banking system unlikely to post a profitability rate over the level registered in 2009.

Anda Dragan