FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a perspective on financial intermediation in the Romanian banking system and bank profitability during and after the financial crisis. The global financial crisis that occurred in 2007 had a great impact and significant negative effects on the real economy, as well as on the banking system. Mainly because of external adverse macroeconomic developments, economic downturn caused by the crisis, weak or negative economic growth and poor economic environment, bank lending declined dramatically and the banking system registered extremely high levels of nonperforming loans due to a continuous deterioration in the quality of loan portfolios. As a result, bank profitability was severely affected and since 2010 the profitability of the Romanian banking system entered in a negative territory.

Keywords

• international financial crisis
• financial intermediation
• nonperforming loans
• bank profitability