1. A MUCH REQUIRED GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
As expected, the Romanian Government introduced additional measures to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID – 19 outbreak, which lead to certain debtors being negatively affected, small and medium-sized enterprises and other legal entities facing a severe lack of liquidity, and individuals seeing an abrupt decrease in their income. Thus, on 30 March 2020, the Romanian Government adopted Emergency Ordinance no. 37 on certain facilities for loans granted by credit institutions and non-banking financial institutions to certain categories of debtors (”GEO 37/2020”), published in the Official Gazette, Part I, no. 261 of 30 March 2020.
GEO 37/2020 took into account the position of the National Bank of Romania which confirmed that lenders – credit institutions (banks) and non-banking financial institutions - may permit delays in the repayment of the loans by the individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, without applying National Bank of Romania Regulation No. 17/2012 on certain lending conditions, as regards the level of indebtedness, the loan-to-value limit and the maximum maturity of consumer credits. Since the banks built up capital buffers, the National Bank of Romania decided to allow the credit institutions to temporarily use these capital buffers up to a date that to be subsequently communicated, subject to complying with the relevant legal requirements.
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