THE "ROMANIA'S DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEW EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CONTEXT" CONFERENCE / ANDREI DUDOIU, BANCA TRANSILVANIA: "We must encourage the consumption of Romanian products"

Romania needs a budget that must be allocated by companies, in order to encourage the consumption of Romanian products, says Andrei Dudoiu, the Deputy Managing Director of Banca Transilvania.

He mentioned that the bank he represents has lent 8.5 billion lei in new loans last year, to companies, and 75%-80% of the companies that borrowed from Banca Transilvania in 2014 were SMEs.

Mr. Dudoiu stressed the fact that starting last year, the retail market has recovered, as only the most powerful investors were left. Mr. Dudoiu also said: "If banks weren't focusing exclusively on the negative side and to the extent that there is interest in growth, the lending segment could continue to grow".

Fiscal predictability is very important for the business sector, he said, and he expressed his hope that the fiscal provisions proposed by the government in the new codes will be implemented and will be supported over time.

Andrei Dudoiu wanted to mention that there are many arrears from companies that owe banks money, even from state-owned ones.

Referring to the current situation in the judicial system, where several businesspeople have been indicted, and some of them have even been convicted, the representative of Banca Transilvania commented: "This raises the question whether a company that works with a state owned company has that risk. Cleanup in the business sector is welcome, but it should not be overdone. We hope that fiscal predictability and encouraging investments will help us to avoid that kind of situations in the future".