Such conclusions were made by the National Bank of Moldova (NBM), having conducted a planned study of financial stability of Moldovan banks.
“The interbank network, although relatively concentrated, does not show signs of systemic tension, and the risks associated with interbank placements are limited. At the same time, no cases of increased sectoral concentration of loans have been identified. The credit history of banks with non-banking financial institutions increased in Q4 by MDL 1.9 million, or 0.1%, compared to the previous quarter, amounting to MDL 3,759.0 million, equivalent to 3.6% of the total portfolio of banks,” the NBM said in a related report.
Banks’ position
According to information from banks, lending standards have eased slightly for both loans to non-financial institutions and consumer loans. At the same time, the demand for loans from both non-financial organizations and households has slightly increased.
The volume of new mortgage loans decreased by 12.7% y-o-y or 5.5% q-o-q to MDL 2,754.7 million. New consumer loans increased 16.7% y-o-y but decreased 8.5% q-o-q to MDL 4,231.1 million.
The balance of overdue loans (with a delay in payment of interest or principal of at least 30 days) attributable to debtor-legal entities increased by 5.5% to 859.1 million MDL, while the balance of loans of debtor-individuals in arrears increased by 6.9% to 631.0 million MDL.
Bad loans
Thus, the share of overdue loans of debtors – legal entities in total loans, remained at 1.5%, while the share of overdue loans of debtors – individuals in total loans to individuals remained at the same level – 1.4%.
The level of non-performing loans (NPLs) to legal entities decreased to 3.9% (-1.1 percentage points), while the level of NPLs to individuals increased to 4.3% (+0.2 percentage points).
The risk profile of individual borrowers remains cautious, with 72.2% of new loans to individuals having a debt service to income (DSI) ratio below 40% and 91.5% below 55%. In addition, 97.0% of new loans to individuals have a loan-to-lien ratio (LCLR) below 80%.
Mortgage
The residential real estate market exhibited weak price growth toward the end of the year. The Residential Real Estate Price Index (RPPI) for Q4 2025, based on supply prices, was 226.7%. This represents a 1.6% increase compared to Q3 2025 and a 26.8% increase compared to Q4 2024.
Therefore, mortgage credit risk remains the main risk to which banks are exposed. The sensitivity analysis of the capital adequacy ratio to deterioration in loan quality found that loans issued for the acquisition and construction of real estate will have the greatest impact on the reduction of the capital adequacy ratio due to a possible increase in NPLs.
NBM also refers to loans granted for trading purposes as “dangerous”. At the same time, banks maintain a stable position in relation to liquidity risk, having solid reserves of liquid assets, allowing them to cope with potential crisis situations.
