Ömer Tetik, CEO of Banca Transilvania, provided his analysis to Ziarul Financiar on Romania’s current economic backdrop, the vital role banks play in restarting growth, and trends in the mortgage market. The full interview is below:


1. How can the economy be relaunched now that the engines which supported growth over the last decade are sputtering one by one?

We are at an important juncture for Romania’s economy, where the traditional engines — consumption, lending, real estate and public investment, all reflected in overall prosperity, supported by wage growth in both the public and private sectors — can no longer sustain growth on their own.

Relaunching the economy calls for a strategic reconfiguration: local companies need to think regionally and pursue expansion, with a focus on investment in energy and infrastructure, innovation, digitalization and cutting red tape, balanced tax reform, and programs that support exporters and entrepreneurs.

The coming year will undoubtedly test Romania’s economy as well as social cohesion, where there are already deep fractures. The current austerity will further aggravate polarization and cohesion issues.

I want to stress something essential: Romania must compete to be a compelling destination for both foreign and domestic investment. We have to attract capital and projects — without them we cannot restart growth — and to attract them we must be competitive, because investment capital chooses between countries and even between cities within the same region. Capital is available globally, but it flows where it is welcomed: where the environment is business-friendly, the legislation is clear, bureaucracy is light and taxation is investor-friendly.

Romania needs to be competitive on all these fronts. That is how we attract investment — and investment brings renewed growth, jobs and prosperity.

We also have reasons for optimism. This challenge comes at a time when we have advantages we have never had before as a country. Prosperity has risen significantly in recent years, even if we do not always acknowledge it and want more. We also have a substantial stock of accumulated savings, and Romanian entrepreneurs are far more sophisticated than in the past. At the same time, the banking sector’s strength and solidity are an anchor, given the very strong metrics that banks in only a handful of European countries can match. All these elements can serve as a springboard for a relaunch.

2. How can private investment — domestic and foreign — be revitalized?

Romania remains an attractive investment destination, with unique advantages ranging from labor costs and the level of education here to our geographic position — now further supported by increased infrastructure investment and joining the Schengen Area — as well as the potential of domestic demand for products and services (demand that is significantly higher than supply).

At the same time, returns on investment in Romania are still good, though we have to consider that a deteriorating tax regime can delay or even deter certain investments.

Even so, we can lean on the country’s strategic advantages, such as the fact that Romania is today one of the safest destinations in Europe. NATO membership underpins this safety, giving investors added assurances on regional security and protection of critical infrastructure.

Another factor with immediate impact on investment is government guarantee programs. They accelerate and multiply investment, and it is rare for the state guarantee to actually be called. For the state, the return on these programs is very good in practice. They generate economic growth, investment and jobs, and all of that comes back as tax revenue. As a result, default rates are low. These programs act as a spark to reignite the economy — and now is when we need them.

3. How can banks contribute more to the recovery?

Banks are essential partners for the authorities in supporting Romania’s growth and development. The Romanian banking system is central to financing companies — private or state-owned, large or small, Romanian or multinationals present here. The recovery depends on investment, and banks can accelerate it by co-financing investment projects and by developing effective solutions to free up and optimize trade credit.

The core role of banks is to finance the economy, companies and consumption. That must continue, and together with the authorities we need to find ways to increase financial intermediation and financing. Another important role is co-financing public projects and those backed by EU funds. Both have been a growth engine for Romania in recent years, and this needs to continue — and accelerate.

That said, banks need to remain efficient and profitable so they can stay agile and a competitive advantage for the economy. Our goal is to preserve and build a sector that is as efficient as possible, able to finance households and the economy with the lowest possible operating costs.

Personally, I constantly look at additional avenues to make financing more efficient and expand it, given that all banks in the European Union operate in a heavily regulated framework with very strict lending conditions. It is essential to have government guarantee programs, funds and banks — both state-owned and multilateral — that provide guarantees or co-guarantees. This matters because we work with clients’ money and adhere to very rigorous regulations; we cannot lend to everything we would like or as much as we would like. Co-guarantee schemes are vital to finance sectors, fields or projects that otherwise we could not finance due to constraints from financial indicators or the regulatory framework.

4. Is corporate lending currently held back more by difficult market conditions — high rates, tighter bank risk policies — or by weak loan demand from companies?

Generally speaking, businesses know how to adapt to different market conditions. What is harder is adapting to uncertainty and unpredictability. It is difficult to say which factor weighs more. We have had higher interest rates for several years and yet lending activity held a good pace. This year other factors came into play, and overall optimism — crucial for investment decisions — is likely lower.

In the first half of the year we saw a positive trend in lending, despite state-guaranteed programs such as IMM Invest not continuing this year.

Loan outstandings are growing, and our estimate for average annual growth is around 6%. There is growth, but clearly slower; in this context, momentum matters to generate economic growth.

The challenge is that this pace is not enough to close Romania’s large gap versus Western Europe — and even versus the region — in terms of banking assets as a share of GDP (where we are last in the region and far from Western Europe).

I believe the main factor currently slowing growth is weaker loan demand as investments are postponed. The absence of government guarantee schemes also plays a role, as they typically catalyze and generate demand — clients start planning, even if they later finance with other sources or a standard bank loan.

5. How much is Banca Transilvania now supporting foreign currency lending, where rates are lower, as an alternative to leu lending where rates are higher?

We offer foreign currency loans and have products for both corporate and retail clients.

For companies, the discussion is relatively simpler because these are clients with complex banking needs and treasury or hedging strategies. They often operate across borders, so foreign currency lending fits and does not expose them to FX risk. For individuals, foreign currency loans are intended for — and recommended to — clients who earn income in that currency, so the market is much more limited. The products exist, but suitability has to be assessed case by case.

6. How can a bank deliver better results than the economy it operates in?

Romania’s banking sector is among the most solid, well-capitalized and efficient in Europe. It is also highly competitive, with many players competing on price and offers to win clients. Banking is a business where economies of scale matter a lot, and smaller banks struggle to be profitable unless they are specialized.

Equally important, if we look at the total capital shareholders put at a bank’s disposal to operate, the return on that capital is similar to other industries. Banking as a whole sits somewhere in the middle of the profitability league table.

In short, even if the nominal profits at some banks look large, they are large because those banks deploy a lot of shareholder capital; the returns are rather normal.

Another factor we expect to contribute positively to banks’ results is that financial intermediation in Romania is low and financial inclusion will increase. We are among the countries in the region with the lowest banking assets as a share of GDP, and the lowest banking assets per capita (less than half of Poland, for example). This means the sector has significant potential, and within it we have a long track record of outgrowing the market.

7. What problems are Romanian companies facing?

One major structural challenge is insufficient capitalization — both in terms of retained and reinvested earnings and access to sources of capital.

Modest capitalization limits not only access to financing, but also companies’ ability to implement retooling or investment plans that generate higher economic value, which in turn means a competitive advantage and faster adaptation to market fluctuations.

That said, recently we have seen more and more success stories where companies consolidate their capital either by tapping the capital market through stock exchange listings or through partnerships with private equity funds. These examples show that Romanian business is evolving and finding solutions for financing and sustainable development. There are obviously other challenges, but if we look at the trajectory, business in Romania — and the country as a whole — has advanced significantly, and many of the difficulties we faced in the past have been resolved.

8. Which sectors does Banca Transilvania finance more?

We aim to provide financing solutions across all sectors, while observing the strategic concentration principles we set for each domain. Historically, Banca Transilvania has focused on sectors with significant GDP impact — agribusiness, healthcare and commerce — for which we have created competence centers at BT.

In recent years our bank has strengthened its role as a lead financier of strategic national projects, from major infrastructure to investments in regional hospitals and energy projects.

Energy is a new entry among BT’s priority sectors, given its strategic importance from a business perspective (financing potential), for the economy (regional competitiveness) and for national energy security.

9. How is large corporate financing — large-ticket deals, a segment where Banca Transilvania wanted to expand further — progressing?

We are continuing our strategy to be the principal financier of Romania’s strategic projects. This year the bank has acted either as a direct lender or as an arranger in syndicated loans for major infrastructure projects, in energy — both generation and transmission — and in renewables.

Momentum in the large corporate segment — both local and multinational — is steadily increasing and we are consistently gaining market share. In parallel, we remain focused on developing products, in partnership with these companies, that improve the liquidity of trade receivables and support the SME ecosystems that are their clients or suppliers.

We will continue to grow and keep a strong focus on this segment. We have built a strong team, we have the right capabilities, and our size allows us to be competitive with any type of client, including very large companies.

10. How is the SME and micro segment performing, where the bank is the main banking player?

The small and mid-sized business segment is heavily influenced by confidence in the future and the outlook. We are going through a tense period, marked by stress and a public space dominated by messages about crisis and uncertainty. I think it is essential to strike a balance between messages about austerity and those that inspire confidence in our potential as a country and an economy. We see sustained activity in the SME line, with adjustments and adaptations to the current context. Entrepreneurs are keenly awaiting new government programs to support business. At BT, we remain confident, drawing on the strong entrepreneurial experience accumulated over time and on the business community’s capacity to reinvent itself and be resilient.

11. Why are banks focusing more and more on selling investment products to clients?

Because banks want this and so do clients. I actually believe the trend started with clients rather than banks. In recent years — more strongly over the last 3–4 years, post‑pandemic and with the war’s onset — clients have been searching for yield. Especially middle- and higher‑income clients in large urban areas are looking at products that could deliver higher returns. It is a global trend: retail investors are looking much more at equities, ETFs and mutual funds, but also bonds and other products. Romania has aligned with this trend, and clients want to participate more actively in financial markets.

We have also seen people taking on risks that we think are disproportionate and can create problems: opening trading accounts on international platforms in unregulated jurisdictions or “exotic” countries, or buying products they do not understand or cannot devote enough time to study — especially stocks, derivatives or ETFs. All this involves risks for clients and we do not recommend it.

That is why, in line with the trend set by retail clients, we launched very good standardized products, regulated in Romania and much safer, which give clients the chance to participate in the stock market and in financial markets, but in a safer way.

We want to grow here. We have strong products and more, more diversified ones will follow. The potential is enormous. Consider that in less than a year almost 150,000 investors chose BT Pay for investments with BT Asset Management.

12. How much further can Banca Transilvania support financing the state budget by buying government securities? Isn’t the exposure already too large?

When we look at a bank’s exposure to government securities, we consider more than volume or the share in total assets. We look at factors such as the portfolio’s average time to maturity, the current yield on the securities and the potential for yields to rise or fall. Taking all of this into account, I believe we are at an optimal level.

The yield on our bond portfolio is high — unfortunately that also means the state is borrowing at a high cost. This yield reflects objective factors, but also subjective ones, such as the lack of depth and sophistication in Romania’s financial market. I think that points to an inefficiency which benefits us, because we earn a very good return on our securities portfolio.

13. How did the OTP integration conclude? What has Banca Transilvania gained from this acquisition?

Integration went according to plan and we completed it in March this year. We finalized it in record time — just seven months — and carried it out in parallel with another integration and merger, between Victoriabank and BCR Chișinău in the Republic of Moldova. Implementation went very well. The similarities and synergies between BT and OTP Bank Romania, together with the teams’ engagement on both sides, mattered enormously and are part of the success.

BT consolidated its market leadership to around 23%, both through the integration of OTP Bank Romania and through organic growth. The merger brought +9% in assets, +13% in the loan portfolio, a larger footprint in Bucharest and central Romania, as well as the Hungarian Desk approach for clients in certain parts of the country.

It also helps profitability because BT’s cost of funds is below OTP’s, allowing us to extract more value from the acquired loan book. At the same time, we have a more diversified product range, giving us the opportunity to offer more products to clients — with a positive impact for both clients and the bank.

14. How can BT grow further in leasing and on the capital market?

BT Leasing will grow by strengthening synergies across the Banca Transilvania Group and by diversifying leasing products through our partnerships with car dealers and equipment suppliers. We plan to introduce mobility solutions such as monthly subscriptions or operating leases, as well as other financing solutions that help clients keep their technology up to date for greater efficiency. Digitalizing products and processes is another strategic direction, and an online leasing product will be launched next year.

BT Leasing has grown rapidly in recent years, primarily thanks to the Group’s M&A strategy, through which it integrated three leasing portfolios. Following these acquisitions and organic business growth, we have almost 42,000 clients, and the leasing asset outstanding reached 6.3 billion lei, up 26% versus the same period last year, while the leasing market grew by around 12%. We are growing significantly above the market and want to keep that pace.

BT Capital Partners is the largest broker in Romania, with a 28% market share across all segments. It is also one of the most active brokers on the BVB in recent years for offerings on local and international markets. Volatility in the first part of this year and recurring issuances, together with progress in operations and the trading platform, all contributed to a significant increase in volumes and client numbers.

With average daily volumes up by approximately 13% in 2025 versus last year across all market segments, BT Capital Partners recorded growth of about 38% as of the end of September 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.

The capital market remains a strategic priority for us — it is a “product” clients are asking for, and market appetite is very healthy. It is also extremely important for Romania to deepen its capital market and increase product sophistication. This is a domain that must grow because it brings prosperity, expands the capital available for companies to invest, and is directly connected to the asset management and pensions markets. Our role, as the country’s largest financial group, is to contribute to the development of this market, which is crucial for Romania’s future.

15. What stage is the BRD Pensii acquisition at, and what will BT gain from this transaction?

We are in the authorization phase with the Financial Supervisory Authority for BRD Pensii. Once completed, BT will expand its private pensions business into Pillar II, reaching over 8 billion lei in assets under management on behalf of more than 600,000 participants in the privately managed pension fund of BRD Pensii.

We believe in the potential of the local capital market and are consistently investing in developing our pensions, asset management and brokerage teams to safeguard clients’ prosperity. In any developed, solid economy, these pillars are essential; they boost returns and improve the population’s financial prospects, both for current needs and over the long term.

16. How is mortgage lending performing given the slowdown in real estate transactions?

Despite a challenging economic context, we remain the main financier of Romania’s residential market. In a period of heightened volatility driven by higher inflation, a new tax regime and a wage freeze in the public sector, our response is a balanced lending policy and predictable financing solutions so we remain a strong option for clients.

Real estate transactions are down versus last year — which I think is normal given the public and political discourse, the economic reality, and the strong dynamics of previous years. Even so, we have managed to slightly increase new originations and gain mortgage market share. The refinancing space is extremely active — banks are competing for clients and I could say we are seeing a price war on interest rates.

At the same time there is a paradox: despite the high yields on government securities and in the interbank market, the mortgage market is extremely competitive and rates are very low.

If we look at the US or other developed countries, mortgage rates are significantly above the 10‑year government bond yield, and current rates are markedly higher than banks offered 4–6 years ago. In Romania it is the opposite. Mortgage rates are well below the 10‑year government bond yield. Moreover, even as the overall level of rates has risen in recent years, mortgage rates are holding or falling.

The mortgage market is highly competitive and rates are favorable for clients, who can borrow at attractive prices.

17. What is the impact of doubling the bank tax on the bank’s results?

Doubling the bank tax means an impact of approximately 500 million lei for Banca Transilvania. For comparison, in 2024 BT’s contribution was around 270 million lei. Even so, based on the bank’s performance so far, the higher tax does not change our plans or our commitments to meet our 2025 budget targets. In other words, we are staying the course and moving forward confidently.

It is not a pleasant situation and we insist it should be temporary, because it affects the competitiveness and efficiency of a critical sector, with knock‑on effects in the economy. But we understand the budget’s difficult position and we stand in solidarity with the country.

18. When will interest rates in lei start to come down?

Personally, I have full confidence in the National Bank of Romania’s monetary policy decisions. The central bank has very strong experience both with Romania’s economy and with monetary policy. Unfortunately, inflation is very high, driven by structural issues such as the demand/supply gap, as well as the recent increases in VAT and other taxes, and the removal of energy price caps. The VAT increase and the removal of caps are one‑off events that do not create recurring inflation. The supply gap is problematic, and over the long term can be addressed only through investment and EU funds.

High interest rates in Romania are also driven by the very high yield investors demand to buy our government’s bonds. That is another issue, and these things are connected. We hope that as early as this autumn the government will see the budget deficit stabilizing and then quickly move to stimulate the economy. Still, I do not think we will see rates cut aggressively in the near future — perhaps only modest reductions, and not immediately, as rates are cut further in the US and elsewhere in the world.

19. Which economic sector has outperformed expectations this year?

We all know the bad news for Romania is that we spend too much — as a country and as individuals. The good news is that in recent years Romania has caught up on public investment, both in infrastructure and construction. These sectors have also been pulled up by all types of European funds, creating a ripple effect across other industries. I would also add sectors that have benefited from our entry into the Schengen Area — such as transport.

For agriculture, 2025 was a better year after several weak ones. Moreover, we have seen a revival in livestock too, which had also been hit in recent years.

20. What is the impact of the difficult market conditions — inflation, high rates, stagnant growth, weaker consumption — on the bank’s activity?

We do not see a direct impact yet, more second‑order effects. NPLs are under control and our cost of risk has not risen. Appetite for lending and banking products remains within normal limits. We are no longer seeing the same growth rates as in the past, but they are still within normal bounds.

One effect we already see is that as people — our clients — earn less or the same, but, affected by inflation, consume less, transaction volumes are no longer growing at the same pace. This is the first effect we observe, but it is more of a second‑order effect, not a direct one in the bank‑client relationship.

It is a tough period for many clients, but Romania’s potential is still very strong and I believe that once measures to stimulate the economy are introduced — and we hope that is soon — the trend will gradually reverse and optimism will return to the market. It is also important that we avoid domestic or external shocks — political, macroeconomic or crises — and that we enjoy a period of fiscal calm at year‑end, where companies are no longer surprised by tax or legislative changes.