Growth of banking system reduced
In January-May the assets of commercial banks constituted 35.42 billion (USD3.6 billion), they increased by 10.75% against 16.39% for the same period of 2007. Such are the data by the National Bank of Moldova (NBM)
According to the NBM report, from the beginning of the year the cash resources of the banks have decreased by 1.87% to 1.65 billion lei. In 2007 this index was positive and constituted 23.8%.
The NBM associated this trend mainly with the increase of the interest rate on attracted financial resources or legal reserve and in this connection the banks were forced to decrease the volume of cash resources in their cashier’s offices.
The NBM experts declined the supposition that the Leu strengthening in respect of other currencies influenced the decrease of cash resources, as the national currency, is accounted separately.
By the NBM’s estimates, the aggregate assets in foreign currency constituted in terms of lei 19.3 billion, they increased by 13.22%. The share of foreign currency in the banks’ assets constituted 72.5% (+0.62%).
Despite a considerable increase of the interest rates on deposits, the growth of the deposit portfolio of physical persons increased only by 16.2% that is less against 2007 – 18.26%. 
“The intensive growth of the banks during the previous years cannot be continued endlessly. As concerns the increase of the deposit portfolio, it would be more correct to compare the absolute figures in lei, but not the percentage growth”, Director of NBM monetary policy department Andrei Rotaru said.
In 2007 the portfolio of physical persons increased for five months by 1.6 billion lei, in 2008 – by 2.2 billion lei.
From the beginning of the year the commercial banks’ capital sufficiency decreased (-0.62%), but it remains fairly high – 28.7%, whereas the standard rate is 12%. // Infotag
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