Government To Tax Banks If ROBOR Index Passes Certain Thresholds

The rates are set by the National Bank of Romania and represent the median interest rate for interbank lending in RON, and is used in the calculation of interest rates for several types of bank loans.

According to the minister, banks will be taxed 0.2% of their assets if the indices are between 1.5% and 1.7%, with the tax rate growing proportionally with the ROBOR level.

For ROBOR values of 1.71-2.5%, the tax will grow to 0.4% of assets. Index values of between 2.51 and 3% will entail a 0.6% tax, while the 3.01-3.5% tier will see the tax grow to 0.9% of bank assets.

The measure will be included in a government decree, which will be enacted starting with the beginning of 2019.

The Government estimates that the measure could bring approximately RON3.6 billion to the state budget.

“Depending on the greediness of banks, we will see the impact of this measure. In the context of the ROBOR growth, the difference between credit and population deposit interest rates is of 6.8%, the highest value of the last four years,” said Teodorovici.

On Tuesday, the three-month ROBOR index – used to calculate the cost of consumer credits taken in RON with non-fixed interest rates – was at 3.04%, while the six-month index – used to calculate interest rates for mortgage loans with variable interest – was at 3.34%.

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