The Romanian banking system
The year 2021 represented the best year for the Romanian banking system since the last financial crisis. The banking system has proven to be part of the solution. The banks supported Romania's economy and population through financing. The financing of the Romanian economy by the Romanian banking system registered a solid growth of 14.8%, being at the highest rate in the last 12 years. Despite the elements determined by the pandemic context, the advance of banking system assets was 14.23%, while savings increased by 13.9% in 2021
At the level of 2022, the Romanian banking system proves that it is still solid and resilient and can fulfill its implicit mandate. The solvency and liquidity indicators place the banking sector among the most solid in the EU. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the soundness indicators of the banking system have allowed a proactive approach, absorbing customer problems and increasing lending at a sustained pace. The solvency indicator reached 21.43%, in June 2022, being two and a half times above the required minimum.
The pillars of the banking system
The National Bank of Romania
The National Bank of Romania, an independent, public institution, has the exclusive right to issue currency, being the sole institution vested with the power to issue legal tender in the form of notes and coins tobe used as means of payment on the territory of Romania. The NBR supports the general economic policy of the Government without prejudice to its primary objective which is providing and maintaining price stability.
The Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund
The Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund was set up in 1996, as a legal entity of public law. The Fund’s purpose is guarantees the reimbursement of deposits with credit institutions, according to the terms and limits established by the law on the Fund’s operating. The Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund conducts activities as special administrator, interim administrator or liquidator of credit institutions, if appointed to act in such a capacity.
The Credit Bureau
Established following the initiative of the Romanian banking community, the Credit Bureau aims to support the participants to the banking system by providing them real, updated, aggregated and consistent information regarding individuals who have outstanding loans with banks or financial companies, have purchased an asset via leasing or have been insured against default risk with an insurer. The Credit Bureau is a joint stock company having as shareholders 25 banks.
TRANSFOND
The operator of the Electronic Payment System of Romania is TransFonD – the Company for Fund Transfer and Settlement, a private firm established by the banking community of Romania, having as shareholders the National Bank of Romania and 23 commercial banks.
The Romanian Bank Institute
The Payments Incidents Bureau
The Credit Information Bureau
The Central Credit Register – CRR (former Banking Risk Register) represents a specialised structure for collecting, storing and centralising the information on the exposure of each declarant person from Romania before the debtors who benefitted from loans and/or commitments whose cumulated level exceeds the reporting limit (20,000 lei), as well as information on card frauds committed by card holders.
ROMCARD
ROMCARD is joint company, set up in 1994 by the five Romanian banks, having as objective the processing of cards transactions.
