BNR's Vasilescu: Any index that sets interest rate takes inflation into account

Inflation has caused disruptions in public life, which has led to the exit of ROBOR (Romanian Interbank Offered Rate, ed. n.) from the game and the introduction of a new reference index for loans, but the National Bank of Romania (BNR) has no other role than that of mathematician of the system, Adrian Vasilescu, strategy strategist at BNR, told AGERPRES on Thursday. He said that this quarterly benchmark for consumer loans would also take inflation into account. "It cannot be other way. Any index that sets an interest rate takes inflation into account. Inflation will always determine the cost of the credit. To have loans with interest rates like those abroad would mean inflation like the one abroad and at the same time economic conditions like those abroad. In the years with negative inflation, we had loans with better interest rates than those in the Czech Republic, Hungary, because inflation was below zero. When inflation rose above zero, ROBOR also grew," Vasilescu explained. The consumer credit reference index, governed by OUG (Government Emergency Ordinance, ed. n.) No. 19/2019, is 2.36pct per annum, calculated as the arithmetic average of the daily interbank rates of interbank transactions in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to data announced on Thursday by BNR.AGERPRES(RO - author: George Banciulea, editor: Mariana Nica; EN - Bogdan Gabaroi, editor: Maria Voican)