Banca Naţională a României

At end-January, broad money (M2) came in at ROL 180,108 billion, down 2.7 percent month-on-month in nominal terms and 6.2 percent in real terms. Broad money fell solely on the back of net domestic assets.

Net domestic assets declined 9.9 percent month-on-month to ROL 83,039 billion, with domestic credit down by 2.3 percent to ROL 106,461 billion and the negative balance of other net assets increasing by ROL 6,629 billion. The non-government credit edged up 5 percent to ROL 78,794 billion due to the increase in both credit in lei and foreign exchange (expressed in lei), by 5.8 percent and 4.5 percent respectively. Credit to government, net, shrank by 18.5 percent to ROL 27,667 billion. This development was the result of: (i) the rise in the liquidity in lei of Treasury, due to significant tax collections; (ii) the increase in the balance of the Ministry of Public Finance's current account in foreign exchange, following the issue of Eurobonds worth EUR 154.1 million; and (iii) the reduction in the balance of government securities held by banks, through the sale of Treasury certificates to non-bank clients.

Net foreign assets grew by 4.5 percent to ROL 97,069 billion over the end of 2000, owing to the 6 percent advance under 'Foreign Exchange' (in ROL terms). The 'Gold' component remained virtually unchanged.

Narrow money (M1) decreased by 18.1 percent to ROL 37,965 billion as a result of the 10.7 percent seasonal fall in currency outside banks to ROL 22,979 billion and of the 27.2 percent drop in demand deposits to ROL 14,987 billion. Quasi-money moved 2.5 percent ahead to ROL 142,143 billion, its share in broad money advancing to 78.9 percent. Household savings edged up 2.9 percent to ROL 45,829 billion, rising at a lower pace than that recorded by lei-denominated government securities, which expanded 16 percent to ROL 9,802 billion. Residents' forex deposits, expressed in lei, grew by 4.9 percent, due mainly to household forex deposits, which posted a 6.7 percent increase.