Reserve requirements are leu- and foreign currency-denominated holdings of credit institutions on accounts opened with the NBR.
The main functions of leu-denominated reserve requirements are the monetary control (in close correlation with liquidity management by the NBR) and the stabilisation of interbank money market rates. The major role of foreign currency-denominated reserve requirements is to contain the expansion of foreign exchange loans.
The main characteristics of reserve requirements are:
- the reserve base is established as the average daily balances (during the observance period) of both leu- and foreign currency-denominated liabilities from credit institutions' balance sheets (except interbank liabilities, obligations to the NBR and own capital);
- the observance period and the maintenance period are one-month long and successive (the observance period lasts from the 24 of the previous month to the 23 of the current month);
- reserve requirements ratios can be different in terms of currency and residual maturities of the items included in the reserve base (shorter or longer than 2 years);
- reserve requirements are the average daily balances held with the NBR during the maintenance period;
- reserve deficit is subject to a penalty rate, while recurrent deficits are sanctioned by warning, fines or limitation of operations conducted by the credit institutions.
Reserve ratios
Reserve base |
Reserve ratio (%) |
lei |
effective from: |
foreign currency |
effective from: |
Liabilities with residual maturity shorter than two years from the end of the observance period |
8 |
24 May 2015 |
5 |
24 November 2020 |
Liabilities with residual maturity longer than two years from the end of the observance period |
with clauses referring to early withdrawal,repayment, transfer |
8 |
24 May 2015 |
5 |
24 November 2020 |
without clauses referring to early withdrawal,repayment, transfer |
0 |
24 Aug. 2002 |
0 |
24 May 2009 |
Non-repayable loans |
0 |
24 Aug. 2002 |
0 |
24 Aug. 2002 |
Interest rate on required reserves
Currency |
Interest rate %p.a. |
effective from: |
Leu-denominated reserve requirements |
0.79 |
24 May 2024 |
Forex-denominated reserve requirements |
EUR |
0.15 |
24 May 2024 |
USD |
0.53 |
24 May 2024 |
Penalty rates for reserve deficits
Currency |
Penalty rate %p.a. |
effective from: |
Leu-denominated reserve requirements |
12 |
24 January 2023 |
Forex-denominated reserve requirements |
EUR |
7.25 |
24 January 2024 |
USD |
7.25 |
24 January 2024 |