The assets of banks in the first half of 2017 continued to increase. The capital maintained the high level of liquidity and profitability, National Bank governor Sergiu Cioclea said in a news conference, referring to the situation in the banking sector, IPN reports.

The new loans provided in April-June 2017 increased by 22.9% compared with the first three months of this year even if their total balance hasn’t grown.

The interest rate on loans continued its downward trend, decreasing to 10% owing to the diminution of the base rate of the central bank to 8%.

The toxic loans represented over 17% of the provided loans. However, as Cioclea explained, these loans didn’t increase in value, but the figures became more accurate following their reevaluation after stricter monitoring and control.

As to the measures taken to further increase the resistance of the banking sector, the governor said the draft law on bank activity that was passed by Parliament in the first reading will consolidate the bank regulation and surveillance framework by aligning this with the European standards (switchover from Basel I to Basel III).

The draft law is to be adopted in the final reading in the autumn-winter session, probably in October. This will take effect on January 1, 2018 and will be implemented in stages until 2020. There will be drafted and approved 20 regulations to implement the law.

Sergiu Cioclea also said that only after the new legal framework is approved and starts to be implemented, could the authorities say that the conditions stipulated in the Moldova-EU Association Agreement were fulfilled.

”The implementation of the new requirements will strengthen the resistance of the banking sector and will reduce the probability of bank bankruptcy, protecting thus the interests of depositors,” said the governor.