Interest rates on business loans have reached their lowest level in the history of lending in Moldova, but it is too early to consider this a sign of an improving economic situation - Veaceslav Ionita
According to the economic policy expert at IDIS Viitorul, there is some activity in the lending sector, despite the situation in agriculture and industry and increasingly pessimistic forecasts for Moldova's economic development. The economist notes that in the first quarter of 2025, although business lending was lower than in the same period of 2024 and loan repayment rates were lower, the total volume of loans to legal entities increased by 4.1 billion lei, which is the largest amount in Moldova's history. “They say that taking out loans is bad, but in the context in which loans for economic development are concerned, an increase in lending rates by commercial banks to economic entities is a positive sign,” the economist noted. Interest rates on loans in lei (MDL) reached 8% in the first quarter of 2025, which is the lowest figure in the country's history, while the bank interest rate on foreign currency loans is 5.9%. “For three quarters in a row, we have had the lowest bank interest rate for economic agents,” said Veaceslav Ionita. At the same time, according to the expert, it is too early to say that the decline in bank interest rates indicates an improvement in the economic situation, but at least economic agents have a positive tendency to believe that things are going well. "Since the beginning of the year, we have had an unprecedented situation where most loans were taken out for a term of more than 5 years and for an amount of more than 1 billion lei. At the same time, the share of loans taken out for a period of more than five years has almost doubled. We are seeing a growing tendency among economic agents to borrow in lei—about 60% of loans taken out are in the national currency," the analyst said. He also reported that in the first quarter of this year, for the first time, the debt of economic agents to banks exceeded 50 billion lei. In relation to GDP, debt in the first quarter of this year reached 15.5%, compared to 14.4% in 2024 and 12.8% in 2023. According to the expert, the 2023 level can be reached, at best, by 2030. Veaceslav Ionita also noted that over the past year, the loan balance has grown the most in the mortgage, consumer, and trade sectors, and to a lesser extent in the energy, non-banking finance, construction, and services sectors, etc. // 28.05.2025 — InfoMarket
