Despite the unprecedented crises the past two years, such as the pandemic, the augmentation of the interest rate and the war in Ukraine, the private individuals who took out loans from banks fulfill their obligations. They needed about three months to adjust to the new conditions and the loans are now repaid on time, said economic expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” Veaceslav Ioniță. According to him, the measures to discourage lending taken by the authorities serve no useful purpose as the population has to now borrow from the informal sector, IPN reports.
The expert noted that in May the National Bank of Moldova approved regulations concerning responsible bank lending to private individuals. They started to be applied on July 1. A similar document was approved by the National Commission for Financial Markets for the non-banking sector. Relatively strict rules were this way imposed on the national financial system for limiting or discouraging somehow particular types of loans. The necessity of proving the legal origin of incomes is the most vulnerable aspect of these regulations as it is known that half of the origin of the incomes of Moldova’s population cannot be confirmed.
In Moldova, the total volume of loans against the Gross Domestic Product is almost two times lower than it should be. Therefore, the economy is underfinanced.
The level of lending to the population rose from 4-5% 10-15 years ago to 16% at present. The European average is about 60%, while the regional average is 20%. At least during the next 5-10 years, no excessive regulations that do not meet the economic realities are necessary in Moldova given that the population plays the bank loans in a disciplined way. The population has incomes and can take out loans to satisfy current or investment needs but often cannot officially prove these incomes that are not illegal but cannot be substantiated with official documents.
Veaceslav Ioniță noted that the lending process this year slowed down. Last year, the volume of loans released by the banking system grew by 890 million lei a month, but this year the growth is of 470 million lei a month. Currently, the banks practically do not provide consumer loans and offer much fewer mortgages compared with last year.
