Ion Chicu
Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Economy, Budget and Finance Radu Marian (PAS) said that the decision is an independent step of the National Bank and is aimed at ensuring price stability. According to him, the pressure on inflation is increasing against the background of regional instability and geopolitical risks.
“Rising borrowing costs are a tool to curb demand and inflation. In 2022, the situation was much more severe: the prime rate exceeded 20% and inflation reached 34%,” Marian said.
He added that the authorities can mitigate the effects through social and economic measures – raising wages, pensions and infrastructure investments.
In turn, the chairman of the Commission on Agriculture and Food Industry Sergei Ivanov (Our Party) believes that the rise in the price of loans will seriously hit the economy, especially the agricultural sector.
“This will lead to a decrease in investment activity, as it is impossible to develop business with expensive money. In addition, the burden on entrepreneurs who already have loans will grow, as interest rates may be revised. This will have a particularly heavy impact on agriculture, where there has been a shortage of capital and limited access to financing for many years,” Ivanov said.
According to him, additional pressure is created by rising fuel prices and the increasing cost of borrowing, so business expects the government to make concrete decisions to support the economy.
Ion Chicu (Alternativa Bloc), a former prime minister and member of the parliamentary commission on foreign policy, also criticized. He believes that the rate hike will first of all hit borrowers and investors.
“Everyone who has loans will pay higher interest rates. But the most negative consequence is a further decrease in investment activity, which is already weak,” Chicu emphasized.
He noted that the transportation sector and agriculture are already feeling the effects of rising fuel prices, and the new decision by the NBM will increase economic pressure.
“The National Bank has traditionally used the increase of the prime rate to curb inflation. However, the consequences are obvious: loans become more expensive, mortgages and investment projects become less affordable. I do not rule out that this increase may not be the last,” added Chicu.
We shall remind you that on May 7, 2026, the Executive Committee of the National Bank of Moldova unanimously decided to raise the prime rate by 1.5 percentage points at once – up to 6.5%, explaining it by the need to prevent the strengthening of inflationary pressure against the background of rising world prices.
