"There
will be defaults, there will be foreclosures, but we also have loan
restructuring products. (...)," says Razvan Munteanu, Raiffeisen
Bank vice-president in charge of retail. As interest rate hikes have been
compounded by the steep RON decline, Munteanu says he foresees "a certain
loan portfolio deterioration", but considerably below what stress tests
indicated for such a decline. As regards the factors sustaining RON
depreciation, Munteanu believes that the shrinking financing Romanian banks
receive from abroad is putting pressure on the exchange rate as players are now
focusing on cutting external indebtedness. Raiffeisen is also trying to adjust
its exposure depending on resources raised from the domestic market. "Our
long-term intention is to bring lending to customers to the level of resources
raised through our own deposits. Bringing the loan-deposit ratio to 100% from
around 120% is a moderate adjustment, though," Munteanu said. He says his
bank continues to release mortgages (accounting for around half of the retail
portfolio), but not as many as before. He also says Raiffeisen does not have
any restructuring plan at present amid the visibly shrinking lending.
"(...) I do not believe there's any sense in our closing now to reopen
later," Munteanu said.