Banca Naţională a României

At end-September 2003, broad money (M2) ran at ROL 414,468 billion, up 1.7 percent in nominal terms (down 0.4 percent in real terms) month on month.

Net foreign assets picked up 1.8 percent to ROL 262,485 billion, on the back of the 2.2 percent rise under "Convertible currencies" and the virtually unchanged "Gold" component.

Net domestic assets stepped up 1.6 percent to ROL 151,983 billion. Domestic credit advanced 4.2 percent to ROL 242,184 billion and the negative balance under other assets, net, widened by 9.1 percent to ROL 90,201 billion.

Non-government credit rose by 5.8 percent in September (a 33 percent jump in real terms in the first nine months of 2003) to ROL 261,778 billion, as a result of the 7.5 percent increase in loans in ROL and the 4.4 percent growth in loans in foreign exchange (up 1.1 percent when expressed in EUR).

The deficit under government credit, net, widened by 29.2 percent (to ROL 19,594 billion) due to: (i) expansion in deposits in foreign exchange of the Ministry of Public Finance with the National Bank of Romania and (ii) redemption of government securities.

Narrow money (M1) crept up 1.5 percent to ROL 101,514 billion on account of the 0.6 percent drop in currency outside banks (to ROL 58,143 billion) and the 4.6 percent growth in demand deposits (to ROL 43,371 billion).

Quasi-money went up 1.8 percent in nominal terms to ROL 312,954 billion. Household savings inched down 0.2 percent to ROL 94,845 billion, accounting for 22.9 percent of broad money versus 23.3 percent at end-August.

Corporate deposits in ROL expanded by 5.8 percent in nominal terms, reaching ROL 58,489 billion. Time deposits increased by 5.1 percent to ROL 34,114 billion, restricted deposits edged up 0.1 percent to ROL 10,421 billion and certificates of deposit climbed 12.6 percent to ROL 13,954 billion.

Forex deposits of residents (including households), when expressed in ROL, enhanced by 1.6 percent in nominal terms to ROL 159,620 billion (when expressed in EUR, forex deposits amounted to EUR 4,150 million). Forex deposits of households inched up 0.3 percent to ROL 79,381 billion (when expressed in EUR, households deposits fell 2.9 percent, tantamount to EUR 2,064 million). Corporate deposits in foreign exchange moved 3.1 percent higher to ROL 70,979 billion when expressed in EUR, they shrank by 0.2 percent to EUR 1,845 million.

At end-September, non-banks held government securities equalled ROL 45,117 billion (up 3.8 percent month on month), of which foreign-exchange-denominated securities amounted to USD 141 million, 27.4 percent higher from August.