The share of non-bank financing in Moldova's GDP increased from 2.4% in 2016 to 4.7% in 2021.
Such data are contained in a study on the socio-economic impact of the non-bank lending sector, which was prepared by independent consultant Dumitru Vicol in collaboration with the American Chamber of Commerce in Moldova (Amсham Moldova). The study presents an analysis, quantification and description of the role of the non-bank lending sector in the national economy over the past 5 years, as well as the impact of possible conceptual changes in this lending sector on economic growth, budget revenues and financial inclusion. The study states the dynamic growth of non-bank lending in Moldova: in 2016-2021. Non-bank lending sector increased their annual funding from 3.79 billion to 11.74 billion lei, which in relation to Moldova's GDP for the corresponding year amounted to 2.4% and, respectively, 4.7%. For comparison, the annual volume of bank lending during this period increased from 34.7 billion to 56.3 billion lei. The study notes an increase in the share of the volume of financing issued and leasing by non-bank lending sector in the total volume of financial lending. According to the study, at the end of 2021, the number of beneficiaries of non-bank lending organizations was 430 thousand people (49.4% of the active population of Moldova), of which 208 thousand were women. In 2021, 45% of the total loans issued by the 9 non-bank lending organizations analyzed were issued on the basis of alternative methods of solvency testing, and 55% on the basis of official income. Contribution of the non-banking financial sector to the state budget of Moldova in 2016-2021 is estimated at 10.1 billion lei, including 4.9 billion lei was a direct impact (of which 1.9 billion lei are payments to employees, income tax, contributions to the social and health insurance fund). The induced impact is estimated at about 32.9 billion lei of production (additional turnover) in 2016-2021, which brought about 3.3 billion lei to the budget (0.91% of budget revenues). The dynamic development of the non-bank lending market was due to foreign direct investment, which for the 9 analyzed non-bank lending organizations in the country at the end of 2021 amounted to 4.6 billion lei. Given that 70-80% of creditors in the industry are foreign investors, the study notes, it is important to keep their interest in the Moldovan economy, especially in the current geopolitical uncertainty. The study notes that the financial inclusion engine of the non-banking sector is focused on lending according to alternative criteria (assets, credit history, unregistered business). If the possibility of lending based on methods of checking solvency by alternative methods was canceled, the balance of non-bank loans issued at the end of 2021 would not amount to 11.3 billion lei, but 5.3 billion lei, and the number of beneficiaries would be almost half as much. It is noted that against the background of the pandemic crisis, lending based on official income has grown in the last 2 years, however, given the size of the informal sector of the economy (30-40%), the restriction of lending by alternative methods should be carried out gradually.// 06.05.2022 — InfoMarket
