Banca Naţională a României

At end-February 2004, broad money (M2) ran at ROL 458,468 billion, up 1.4 percent in nominal terms (0.8 percent in real terms) month on month. In year-on-year comparison, broad money increased by 24.8 percent, 9.8 percent in real terms.

Net foreign assets crept up by 1.1 percent month on month to ROL 255,503 billion on the back of the 1.4 percent rise under "Convertible currencies" and the "Gold" component remaining broadly unchanged.

Net domestic assets moved 1.7 percent higher to ROL 202,966 billion. Domestic credit stepped up 0.9 percent to ROL 308,131 billion and the negative balance under other assets, net, narrowed by 0.8 percent to ROL 105,165 billion.

Non-government credit, inched up 0.5 percent in February (down 0.1 percent in real terms) to ROL 314,189 billion, following the 0.6 percent pickup in loans in ROL and the 0.5 percent growth in loans in foreign exchange (up 2 percent when expressed in EUR). Non-government credit jumped year on year by 66.7 percent (46.6 percent in real terms) on account of the 95 percent upsurge in loans in ROL (up 71.5 percent in real terms) and the 48.7 percent rise in loans in foreign exchange (30.8 percent in real terms).

The deficit under government credit, net, narrowed by 13 percent (to ROL 6,058 billion) due to the contraction in deposits in domestic currency of the Ministry of Public Finance with the National Bank of Romania and the reduction of funds from financial contribution of the European Communities to the National Fund (Phare funds).

* revised data

** the ratio shows the narrowing from ROL 6,965 billion to ROL 6,058 billion of the deficit under government credit, net.

Narrow money (M1) moved up 1.8 percent in nominal terms to ROL 104,107 billion on account of the 4.2 percent increase in currency outside banks (to ROL 58,314 billion) and the one percent drop in demand deposits (to ROL 45,794 billion).

Quasi-money stepped up 1.3 percent in nominal terms to ROL 354,361 billion. Household savings edged up 3 percent to ROL 104,126 billion, accounting for 22.7 percent of broad money versus 22.4 percent at end-January. Household savings climbed year on year by 12.3 percent (down 1.3 percent in real terms).

Corporate deposits in ROL added 3.3 percent in nominal terms, reaching ROL 75,597 billion. Time deposits picked up 4.5 percent to ROL 47,746 billion, restricted deposits inched down 0.8 percent to ROL 11,986 billion, and certificates of deposit went up 2.9 percent to ROL 15,865 billion. Corporate deposits in ROL expanded year on year by 56.4 percent or 37.6 percent in real terms.

Forex deposits of residents (including households), when expressed in ROL, edged down 0.6 percent in nominal terms to ROL 174,638 billion (when expressed in EUR, forex deposits advanced 0.9 percent to EUR 4,364 million). Households forex deposits with banks added 0.7 percent to ROL 87,940 billion (when expressed in EUR, household deposits rose by 2.3 the equivalent of EUR 2,198 million). Corporate deposits in foreign exchange moved 2.2 percent lower to ROL 76,422 billion (when expressed in EUR, they fell by 0.7 percent to EUR 1,910 million). In year-on-year comparison, at end-February 2004, forex deposits of residents, when expressed in EUR, grew by 5.3 percent, those of households by 17.2 percent, while corporate forex deposits shrank by 5.4 percent.

At end-February 2004, non-banks held government securities tantamount to ROL 49,081 billion (up 4.3 percent month on month), of which domestic currency-denominated securities amounted to ROL 42,840 billion (up 4.8 percent month on month) and foreign-exchange-denominated securities to the equivalent of EUR 156 million, 2.6 percent higher from January