Banca Naţională a României

At end-January 2004, broad money (M2) ran at ROL 452,217 billion, down 1.9 percent in nominal terms (2.9 percent in real terms) month on month. In a year-on-year comparison, broad money expanded by 27.1 percent, or 11.6 percent in real terms.

Net foreign assets inched up 0.2 percent month on month to ROL 252,673 billion on the back of the 0.3 percent rise under "Convertible currencies" and the "Gold" component remaining unchanged.

Net domestic assets moved 4.4 percent lower to ROL 199,545 billion. Domestic credit stepped up 1.5 percent to ROL 305,509 billion and the negative balance under other assets, net, widened by 14.7 percent to ROL 105,965 billion.

Non-government credit, edged up by 3.2 percent in January (2 percent in real terms) to ROL 315,128 billion, following the 5.2 percent increase in loans in ROL and the 1.6 percent growth in loans in foreign exchange (up 2.8 percent when expressed in EUR). Non-government credit surged year on year by 70.7 percent (49.9 percent in real terms) on account of the 100.4 percent surge in loans in ROL (up 76 percent in real terms) and the 52.1 percent rise in loans in foreign exchange (34.3 percent when expressed in EUR).

The deficit under government credit, net, widened by 117.5 percent (to ROL 9,619 billion) due to: (i) expansion in deposits in the General Account of Treasury, (ii) contraction in deposits in foreign exchange of the Ministry of Public Finance with the National Bank of Romania and (iii) issue of government securities in ROL.

^* the ratio shows the widening from ROL 4,422 billion to ROL 9,610 billion of the deficit under government credit, net.

Narrow money (M1) moved down 9.7 percent in nominal terms to ROL 102,240 billion on account of the 3.5 percent decrease in currency outside banks (to ROL 55,969 billion) and the 16.3 percent fall in demand deposits (to ROL 46,272 billion).

Quasi-money inched up 0.7 percent in nominal terms to ROL 347,977 billion. Household savings edged up 1.6 percent to ROL 101,130 billion, accounting for 22.4 percent of broad money versus 21.6 percent at end-December. At end-January 2004, household savings climbed year on year by 11.7 percent (down 1.9 percent in real terms).

Corporate deposits in ROL dropped by 4.6 percent in nominal terms, reaching ROL 73,179 billion. Time deposits dipped by 8.8 percent to ROL 45,686 billion, restricted deposits crept up 2.8 percent to ROL 12,079 billion, and certificates of deposit went up 3.4 percent to ROL 15,415 billion. At end-January 2004, corporate deposits in ROL expanded year on year by 58.3 percent, or 39 percent in real terms.

Forex deposits of residents (including households), when expressed in ROL, added 2.6 percent in nominal terms to ROL 175,668 billion (when expressed in EUR, forex deposits amounted to EUR 4,324 million). Forex deposits of households with banks picked up 1.2 percent to ROL 87,326 billion (when expressed in EUR, household deposits rose by 2.4 percent, the equivalent of EUR 2,149 million). Corporate deposits in foreign exchange moved 4.8 percent higher to ROL 78,149 billion (when expressed in EUR, they advanced by 6 percent to EUR 1,923 million). In a year-on-year comparison, at end-January 2004, forex deposits of residents, when expressed in EUR, grew by 6.8 percent, those of households by 15.1 percent, while corporate forex deposits shrank by 2.1 percent.

At end-January 2004, non-banks held government securities tantamount to ROL 47,062 billion (up 1.3 percent month on month), of which foreign-exchange-denominated securities amounted to the equivalent of EUR 152 million, 5.2 percent higher from December.