Transfers from abroad through Moldovan banks hit 1.4 billion dollars

Chisinau, 2 December /MOLDPRES/ - Private people (residents and non-residents) received through Moldovan banks sums equivalent to 1.4 billion dollars in the first ten months of 2014, by six per cent more against the same period last year, according to National Bank of Moldova (BNM) data unveiled today.

BNM data show that, in last October, money inputs transferred through Moldovan banking systems were lower than in the same period last year. Moldovans working abroad and other persons from abroad sent home 144 million dollars in October, by 14 million less than in 2013.

Most transfers, 36.3 per cent of the total, were made in euro for the first time in the last six months. The percentage of transfers in Russian roubles, which reached almost 40 per cent in the third quarter, dropped to 35.1 per cent. More than a quarter of remittances were in dollars.

Experts consider that transfers might hit the 2008 record level in 2014. The year 2008 preceded the crisis, and transfers stood at 1.66 billion dollars.

BNM has previously warned that money transfers from abroad to individuals through banks did not only consist of remittances of Moldovan citizens working abroad, but also included unilateral transfers, such as pensions, benefits, inheritances, gifts, various contributions.

Approximately 700,000 Moldovans work abroad, according to data by the World Bank and confirmed by officials. The money sent by them in the country continues to represent a stimulus for consumption and economic growth.