The amount of new loans offered in the second quarter of this year was twice the level registered in the similar period last year. The total amount of loans maturing until July 30 constitutes 24.9 billion lei, by 1 billion lei more than at the beginning of the year, said National Bank (BNM) Governor Dorin Dragutanu. The interest rates on Moldovan lei loans have been on the decrease, reaching 16.5%, or by 4.5 percentage points lower that in the second quarter of last year, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Noteworthy is that during this summer Moldova sees the lowest, ever, interest rates on national currency loans”, said Dragutanu. Commenting on remarks that, nevertheless, starting from August some banks raised their interest rates on the loans offered through credit lines created in partnership with international financial organizations, Dragutanu said that that wasn't a trend and that, overall, interest rates were decreasing both on national and foreign currencies loans. “When the EBRD or the International Finance Corporation opens a credit line in a local bank, the negotiated interest rate represents a trade secret of the parties. The international organization usually leaves the commission added to the interest to the bank's discretion, depending on the client and the credit risks. So, a certain client can have an interest rate higher by one or two percentage points if that client doesn't have a credit history and the respective business involves higher than average risks”, explained the BNM governor. According to Dragutanu, a priority for most Moldovan banks is lending to SMEs, which is also supported by the BNM.