Interest rate on new loans in MDL dropped to historical minimum

Chisinau, 21 August /MOLDPRES/- The interest rate on new loans in MDL continues to fall and dropped in July to the historical low of 8.0 percent. The reduction of the interest rate stimulates the demand for bank loans, the private people and legal entities contracted bank loans amounting to over 2 billion lei in July, according to data of the National Bank of Moldova (BNM).

According to the BNM, the economic agents and the population took over seven months of this year bank loans amounting to over 13.2 billion lei. In July, the value of the financing exceeded by 500 million the level registered in the same period of the previous year. The most requested were the loans granted on terms from 2 to 5 years (45.7% of the total credits in national currency), granted at an interest rate of 7.82% annually.

According to the National Bank, the loans in the national currency were represented, mainly, by the financing granted to the private people, 1035 million lei.

Banking statistics show that in July this year the population borrowed from banks with 312 million lei, a record amount on this segment of bank financing. BNM data also show that in the total of the credits contracted by the private people, the ones of consumption prevail, which amounts to 630 million lei in July.

The weighted average interest rate on new loans granted in foreign currency during the reference period was 4.42 percent. In July, banks offered foreign currency loans amounting to 777 million lei.