The weighted average interest rate on new loans in lei in Moldova in March 2022 amounted to 9.64% per annum, an increase of 0.43 percentage points compared to the previous month.
At the same time, compared to March of the previous year, it increased by 2.41 percentage points. It should be noted that the historical minimum of the weighted average interest rate on new loans in lei in Moldova is 6.78% per annum, and it was registered in August 2021. As the National Bank of Moldova told InfoMarket, in March 2022, loans were provided to individuals under an average rate of 10.32% (+0.54 p.p. compared to the previous month; +4.51 p.p. compared to March 2021), to legal entities - at 9.16% (+0, 42 p.p. and +0.8 p.p., respectively), and for individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities - at 11.22% (+0.28 p.p. and +1.77 p.p., respectively). The volume of loans in lei provided to individuals in March 2022 decreased by 2.9% compared to the previous month, amounting to 1 billion 030.8 million lei. From the point of view of the purpose of the loans granted, the largest share was made up of consumer loans (65.1%), which were issued at an average rate of 11.34% per annum (+0.67 p.p., compared to the previous month; +6.06 p.p. compared to March 2021). The average interest rate on loans for the purchase of real estate in February 2022 was 8.15% and increased by 0.24 percentage points compared to the previous month, and also increased by 1.72 percentage points compared to March 2021. It should be noted that 97.2% of the total mortgage loans and 99.8% of consumer loans were issued in lei. Loans in national currency with a maturity of 2 to 5 years were the most popular in the reporting month and were provided at an average interest rate of 10.17% (for legal entities - 9.36%, for individuals - 11.44%, and for individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activity - 11.52%). Meanwhile, the highest average interest rate on loans in the national currency for legal entities was on loans with a maturity of up to 1 month, amounting to 11.29% per annum, for individuals - on loans for a period of 1-3 months, amounting to 14.55% per annum, and for individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities, on loans for a period of 1-3 months, amounting to 13.99% per annum. The lowest average interest rate on loans in lei for individuals was the rate on loans for a period of more than 5 years, which amounted to 8.25% per annum, for legal entities - the rate on loans for a period of 1-3 months, which amounted to 7.9%, and for individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities, the rate on loans for a period of more than 5 years, which amounted to 9.97%.// 22.04.2022 — InfoMarket
