Volksbank Sees Romania In Crisis Until 2011

“There is no reason for a person to transfer their bank accounts in another state. The tax system is good and the interest rates are high. Romania is one of the most secure countries," Schreiner said.

However, he said the Romanian real estate market is currently very unstable and banks have difficulty assessing property value.

Still, people need homes now as they did in the past, but are afraid to invest and spend much money, even though banks are open for lending.

"You don’t have to be a dealer, a broker or a real estate agent to see what’s going on in the market.  Last years’ estimations were not made for speculators, but for the population," Schreiner said.

According to him, Romania offers more opportunities compared with other EU states and investors still come to the country. New Austrian companies plan to invest in Romania, despite the turmoil period, he added.

In his turn, Herwig Burgstaller, the vice-president of Volksbank Romania, said the local banking market is very stable, but the Government must create a “friendly” investment environment for companies.

Volksbank Romania reported a pretax profit of EUR37.85 million in 2008, up 54% on the year and the lender estimates a 22% growth in 2009, to EUR46.25 million.