To support business during a crisis, bank lending is not a panacea: an integrated approach and government support are needed, - the National Bank.
This opinion was expressed by the President and Vice-President of the NBM Octavian Armasu and Vladimir Munteanu at an online meeting with journalists, which took place within the framework of the meeting of the Economic Press Club. Discussions touched upon the latest decisions of the NBM in the field of monetary policy, the situation in the banking sector, topical issues in the field of banking regulation, etc. Talking about how banks can support their clients and the economy as a whole, the President of the NBM noted that banks are interested in maintaining their positions in the market, increasing their loan portfolios and client base, but they have limited opportunities for lending. “Banks use depositors' money, so they must carefully assess the risks and be prudential when granting loans. And no matter how sorry we may be for economic agents, we cannot force banks to issue loans to enterprises that cannot cope with the crisis situation. The state must come to the rescue, which must provide a certain amount of assistance for a certain period, ”said Octavian Armasu. - However, the state did not offer serious tools to support business, as happened in other countries, for example, governments provided state guarantees to business. In Moldova, business support was limited to the limited capabilities of ODIMM ”. At the same time, he noted that the banks provided serious support to the farmers who were most affected by the pandemic and unfavorable weather conditions last year. “In 2020, the portfolio of bank loans provided to farmers has grown by about 1/3. Lending has not grown so much in any sector. Banks have done everything they could, understanding the difficult conditions for agricultural producers, but they are not able to help companies whose debts already exceed turnover, and there are many such companies. We need government support, ”said Octavian Armasu. A similar opinion was expressed by the Vice-President of the NBM Vladimir Munteanu. “The idea that only banks can support the agricultural sector is wrong. The production cycle was difficult, banks re-echeloned payments, proposed a new approach and tools, but bank lending is not a panacea for such situations, a more comprehensive approach is needed, ”Munteanu stressed. The NBM representatives noted that at the end of 2020, the share of unfavorable loans in the banking sector did not increase significantly - only a little among individuals, but the situation does not cause concern. At the same time, they stressed that often the negative effects of the economic crisis come with a delay and it is likely that the growth of unfavorable loans may occur in the future, so the National Bank is closely monitoring the trends and situation in this area.// 04.05.2021 — InfoMarket
