Press Review - November 13, 2015

11.13.2015 By Gabriela Stan

Raiffeisen Bank International After-Tax Profit In Romania Up 6.2% To EUR86M In January-September

Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) posted an after tax profit of EUR86 million in Romania in the first nine months of 2015, up 6.2% from EUR81 million in January-September 2014, the lender said in a report Thursday.

In January-September, Raiffeisen's total assets in Romania rose 6.9% on the year to EUR6.96 billion, from EUR6.51 billion in the same period a year before.

Lending fell 0.1% on the year to EUR4.44 billion, while deposits rose 13.6%, to EUR4.84 billion. Thus, the loan to deposit ratio stood at 85.6% at the end of September, down by 10.6 percentage points. (Adevarul)

Romania Sells RON1B of One-Year T-Bills at 1% Average Yield

Romania's finance ministry on Thursday sold a planned 1 billion lei (EUR225.73 million) worth of one-year treasury bills at an average yield of 1%, central bank data showed.

Demand for the bills maturing in November 2016 was almost double, at RON1.933 billion. The maximum accepted yield was 1.04%.

Romania has raised around RON31.7 billion so far in 2015 from selling state paper on the local market. (Puterea)

British Ambassador Paul Brummell Says New Government To Deal With Important Economy Issues

British Ambassador to Bucharest, Paul Brummell, stated Thursday that the new Romanian government will have to deal with important issues related to economy, budget and the management of 2016 elections.

Under the circumstances, Brummell gave assurance that Great Britain, as a friend of Romania, is ready to support the transition process that Romania is undergoing.

The ambassador added that last week’s street protests brought to light many important issues and it’s a good thing that politicians take them into consideration.
 

 Romanian President Klaus Iohannis nominated former EU Commissioner Dacian Ciolos for prime minister, after Victor Ponta stepped down last week amid ample street protests. (Romania Libera)

UNPR Unconditional Support For Dacian Ciolos Government Could Change Majority In Parliament

The unconditional support of UNPR for Dacian Ciolos government will change the majority in the Parliament and will lead to the transfer of PSD to the opposition. Gabriel Oprea, who was forced to resign from the position of interior minister due to street protests, still continues to pull the strings in the Parliament.

Liberals might form a conjunctural majority in the Parliament, after UNPR and UDMR have already announced their support for Klaus Iohannis’ proposal to appoint Dacian Ciolos as PM. PSD, the biggest party in the Parliament, will most likely be left aside and transferred to the opposition after the forming of the new parliamentary coalition around Ciolos. At the moment, PNL is in talks with the leaders of several parliamentary parties to form a majority that would exclude Liviu Dragnea’s party. (Adevarul)

Transport Ministry Control Authorities Identify Irregularities At Roads Authority CNADNR

The control authorities in the Transport Ministry have identified several irregularities at Romania’s roads authority CNADNR, also related to the segment of 200 - 300 meters of Orastie-Sibiu highway that will have to be completely demolished and rebuilt by the constructor due to foundation issues.

Roads authority CNADNR had no obligation to inaugurate the segment of Sibiu-Orastie highway in November 2014, a few days before the second round of general elections, but did, thus it will have to deal with the consequences of this action.

One of the consequences is the need to rebuild hundreds of meters of highway due to foundation issues caused by seepage. (Romania Libera)