Mortgages taken out by Romanians registered a slight increase in April, Business Standard reported. Foreign currency-denominated mortgages registered a 0.8% drop in April, balanced by a 1.2% appreciation of the national currency. Expressed in lei, the mortgages, in both lei and foreign currencies, fell 0.7%, to RON 21.6 billion (5.16 bln euros), according to data provided by the National Bank of Romania (BNR).

The share of arrears in total loans granted by banks to individuals and companies amounted to 2.5% at the end of April. In Bucharest, company and individual arrears doubled in the first four months of 2009, to 410.7 mln. euros.

Individual and corporate loan arrears nationwide exceeding 30 days rose 75.9% in the first four months of this year, due to the sharp 118.6% increase in arrears on foreign currency loans, at the end of 2008. Moreover, arrears exceeding 30 days skyrocketed 224% compared to April 2008.

The share of arrears in total volume of individual and corporate loans amounted to 2.5% at the end of April, compared to 1.44% at the end of last year and 0.91% on 30 April 2008, according to BNR data.

At the end of April 2009, loans granted to individuals and companies totaled 48.16 bln euros, down one percent in lei compared to the previous month, 19.77 bln euros, or 41%, were national currency-denominated loans.

Source: Business Standard