Romanian banks plan appeals as competition council orders regulatory overhaul

Romanian competition regulators levied a fine on a group of banks, including Banca Transilvania, and required fundamental changes to the National Bank of Romania's rules on benchmark rate setting and the interbank money market. Affected banks must file remedial plans within 60 days, subject to council approval, and can challenge the decision at the Bucharest Court of Appeal. In parallel, legislators from the Social Democratic Party and Save Romania Union have drafted separate bills to enable loan customers to recover additional interest they allege resulted from ROBOR manipulation.

The National Bank of Romania cautioned that these proposals were introduced before the council's reasoning was published and before any court rulings on the banks' appeals. The council also set a two-month deadline for the central bank to amend the regulations, after which parliamentary intervention could occur.