Banca Naţională a României

At end-April 2003, broad money (M2) ran at ROL 378,594 billion, up 2.5 percent in nominal terms (1.4 percent in real terms) month on month.

Net foreign assets dropped by 2.3 percent to ROL 226,250 billion, due to the 2.8 percent fall under "Convertible currencies" and the broadly unchanged "Gold" component.

Net domestic assets went up 10.5 percent to ROL 152,344 billion. Domestic credit added 4.9 percent to ROL 225,900 billion, while the negative balance under other assets, net, narrowed by 5 percent to ROL 73,556 billion.

Non-government credit picked up 4.3 percent (or 10.1 percent in real terms in the first four months of the year) to ROL 206,479 billion, due to the growth in loans in ROL by 5.4 percent and in foreign exchange by 3.6 percent (1.4 percent when expressed in EUR).

Government credit, net, expanded by 12 percent to ROL 19,422 billion as a result of: (i) the contraction in the reserves both in domestic and foreign currency of the Ministry of Public Finance opened with the National Bank of Romania and (ii) the redemption of ROL-denominated government securities.

Narrow money (M1) moved 9.9 percent higher to ROL 87,820 billion on account of the 12.4 percent rise in currency outside banks reaching ROL 51,575 billion, and the 6.4 percent growth in demand deposits, to ROL 36,245 billion. The remarkable increase in currency outside banks was driven by seasonal factors (dividends for 2002, Easter bonuses) and incidental factors (growth in minimum wage, social security benefits, redundancy payments for the people laid off in April).

Quasi-money edged up 0.4 percent to ROL 290,774 billion. Household savings crept up 1.1 percent to ROL 94,126 billion, accounting for 24.9 percent of broad money, versus 25.2 percent at end-March.

Corporate deposits in ROL inched up 0.6 percent to ROL 50,395 billion. Time deposits dipped by 1.2 percent to ROL 27,523 billion, restricted deposits advanced by 7.9 percent to ROL 9,907 billion, while certificates of deposits fell 0.8 percent to ROL 12,965 billion.

Forex deposits of residents (including households), when expressed in ROL, stood almost flat at ROL 146,253 billion (when expressed in EUR, forex deposits amounted to EUR 3,958 million). Forex deposits of households stepped up 3.6 percent to ROL 70,712 billion (when expressed in EUR deposits of households climbed by 1.4 percent, equivalent to EUR 1,914 million). Corporate deposits in ROL went down 4.3 percent to ROL 67,101 billion (when expressed in EUR, they moved down 6.3 percent to EUR 1,816 million).

At end-April, non-banks held government securities totalling ROL 40,144 billion (down 7.6 percent month on month), of which foreign-exchange-denominated stocks amounted to USD 52.3 million, 47.4 percent lower against March.