Romanian household loans in lei grew 9.2% in a year, while foreign-currency loans shrank 12%

September in figures

• Household loans in lei: +1.1% on the month, +9.2% on the year.
• Household loans in foreign currency: −1.2% on the month, −12.2% on the year.
• All non-government loans: 480,263 million lei, +8.2% on the year (+1.4% after inflation).
• Household deposits in lei: 269,182 million lei, +6.7% on the year.

Consumer prices were 6.61% higher than a year earlier, according to the INS figure cited by BNR. By our calculation, household lending in lei therefore grew by about 2.4% in real terms. The release does not separate mortgages from consumer loans.

Why it matters for buyers

Lending to households is still growing faster than prices, and almost all of it is now in lei: about 94% of the household loan stock. For a buyer, this means less currency risk but full exposure to lei interest rates.

For what a typical mortgage costs in Bucharest, see our affordability analysis.