In October, according to NBM data, the volume of newly granted credits decreased by almost 3% against the previous month, as well as the share of credits granted in national currency (-4%), which prevails (71%) in the total amount of borrowings.
In the reporting month, the volume of loans requested by legal entities amounted to MDL 4,478.5 million, decreasing by 3.9% as compared to the previous month. Most of them (94%) went to non-financial businesses. Perhaps, for the first time, the demand ratio was not in favor of consumer needs. More than half of all new loans were “taken” by the business environment.
Consumer lending also shrank. In October, individuals received loans worth 2,431.9 million lei, 2.2% less than in the previous month. Most of them (61.6%) were granted for consumer needs. Mortgage loans accounted for 37.9% of the total number of new loans granted to individuals and were issued mainly in national currency.
Rates of ley loans slowly crept downward. The average nominal rate on newly issued loans in national currency decreased by 0.13 percentage points over the month and amounted to 9.22%. The average rate on consumer loans issued in the national currency decreased by 0.05 percentage points and amounted to 11.02%. The average rate on mortgage loans issued in the national currency decreased by 0.04 percentage points and amounted to 8.17%.
The NBM decided to reduce excessive credit growth in the banking sector by increasing the countercyclical buffer rate to 1.5%, in order to preserve the financial stability of the banking system. The countercyclical buffer is an additional capital requirement applied to banks during periods of accelerated credit growth. The new requirement will take effect, if nothing changes, in May next year.
The rate was revised due to data for the first quarter of 2025. The regulator was alarmed by the ratio of credit extended to the private sector to quarterly GDP, which reached a level of 103.0% (or 25.74% over annualized GDP), exceeding the long-term trend of 7.8%. Such dynamics was mainly due to a sharp increase in lending.
