Romania Expects Annual Inflation to Rise to 8.2%
04 Nov 2010 / 14:08
The National Bank of Romania has revised its annual inflation forecast for 2010 to 8.2 percent from the previous 7.8 percent, governor Mugur Isarescu said on Thursday at a presentation of the third-quarter inflation report.
--
Business Review
As in the case of the last inflation revision announced by the National Bank (in August when it was hiked to 7.8 percent from 3.7 percent), the new inflation target is also linked to the effects of the VAT increase to 24 per cent.
For 2011 the target was increased to 3.4 percent from an initial 3.1 percent. According to Isarescu, inflation should start to decrease in the second semester of 2011.
balkan insight
10 Nov 2010 / 11:38
Number of Loan Defaulters Climbs in Romania
There were twice as many late payments to banks this September, compared to last, as more and more Romanians lose control of their finances.
Marian ChiriacBucharest
Every day, Adrian Vasile, an engineer on Romanian state railways, CFR, tries to figure out where he and his wife can cut their expenses, in order to meet rising monthly bills and bank loan payments.
Like all public servants in the country, he had to accept a 25-per-cent cut in his salary this summer. “The situation is extremely difficult, especially now that winter is coming and heating bills become expensive," he said. "For the first time in my life, I'm late in paying off the bank."
Vasile's debt problem is common among Romanians, a growing number of whom are defaulting on loans that they took out in easier times.
According to the Romanian National Bank, BNR, about 240,000 of 973,660 Romanians with bank loans in September defaulted on their scheduled payments.
Late payments on loans worth over 20,000 lei (around 4,700 euro) more than doubled to 14.6 billion lei (3.4 billion euro) in September, compared to the same month last year.
"Three or four years ago, tens of thousands of people took out loans at low interest rates with no obligation to pay anything for the first six months," explained Ionut Moraru, from the daily Ziarul Financiar. "Now, they can't pay off their loans in the more difficult economic climate," he added.
Experts believe the banking system is robust enough in Romania to cope with increasing levels of late payment or defaults on payment on the part of consumers.
But tough times are set to continue. Romania is dependent on a 20-billion-euro rescue package from the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank, which it obtained in exchange for agreeing to push through austerity measures aimed at taming the country’s deficit.
Number of Loan Defaulters Climbs in Romania
There were twice as many late payments to banks this September, compared to last, as more and more Romanians lose control of their finances.
Marian ChiriacBucharest
Every day, Adrian Vasile, an engineer on Romanian state railways, CFR, tries to figure out where he and his wife can cut their expenses, in order to meet rising monthly bills and bank loan payments.
Like all public servants in the country, he had to accept a 25-per-cent cut in his salary this summer. “The situation is extremely difficult, especially now that winter is coming and heating bills become expensive," he said. "For the first time in my life, I'm late in paying off the bank."
Vasile's debt problem is common among Romanians, a growing number of whom are defaulting on loans that they took out in easier times.
According to the Romanian National Bank, BNR, about 240,000 of 973,660 Romanians with bank loans in September defaulted on their scheduled payments.
Late payments on loans worth over 20,000 lei (around 4,700 euro) more than doubled to 14.6 billion lei (3.4 billion euro) in September, compared to the same month last year.
"Three or four years ago, tens of thousands of people took out loans at low interest rates with no obligation to pay anything for the first six months," explained Ionut Moraru, from the daily Ziarul Financiar. "Now, they can't pay off their loans in the more difficult economic climate," he added.
Experts believe the banking system is robust enough in Romania to cope with increasing levels of late payment or defaults on payment on the part of consumers.
But tough times are set to continue. Romania is dependent on a 20-billion-euro rescue package from the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank, which it obtained in exchange for agreeing to push through austerity measures aimed at taming the country’s deficit.
balkan insight
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου