Business Forum • 8 January, 2025 at 12:41 PM
The 3-month ROBOR index, which is used to calculate the cost of consumer loans in RON with variable interest rates, fell on Wednesday to 5.91% per annum, from 5.92% per annum in the previous session, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania (NBR). At the beginning of last year, the index stood at 6.21%.
The six-month index, used to calculate interest rates on variable-rate lei mortgage loans, stagnated at 5.97% per annum, while the 12-month ROBOR remained at 6.03%.
With regard to the reference index for consumer credit (IRCC), regulated by OUG 19/2019, it stood at 5.66% per annum, calculated as the arithmetic average of the daily interest rates on interbank transactions in the third quarter of 2024, down from 5.99% in the previous quarter. On the next change, in April, the IRCC will go down to 5.55%.
In May 2019, Law 19/2019 entered into force, which changes the way in which the rate is calculated for loans in lei with variable interest rates. Thus, the normative act established the reference index for consumer loans (IRCC), calculated quarterly exclusively on the basis of interbank transactions.
The monetary policy interest rate, set by the NBR, is 6.5% per annum and economists do not expect it to change in the coming period, given the current high inflation rate of over 5%.