Romania in the red

Compared to the rest of the world, Romanians are deeply in debt. In response, the Romanian national bank, BNR, is proposing a regulation that would require banks to inform future clients of the negative impact of debt. "A Romanian is not a Romanian if he does not take out a loan at a bank as soon as he can," comments the daily newspaper Gandul. "It pays for extra living expenses in January, or a Caribbean holiday, or cars – good and bad ones. Forty percent of all Ferraris driven in Romania were bought on a leasing basis. ... At first glance, there is nothing wrong with taking out a loan. ... But Romanians pay out 16 percent of their monthly income in credit instalments. That may seem quite low, but bank experts estimate that US citizens pay 14 percent per month, while citizens of the Eurozone pay an average of 10.4 percent of their income. ... The BNR national bank is trying to put the brakes on debt, using various methods and legal hurdles. But banks always manage to invent new ways to reduce the impact of such regulations."

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