Economist Veaceslav Ionita from IDIS ‘Viitorul‘ reported a historic surge in corporate lending in Moldova on the May 23, 2025, edition of Economic Analysis with Veaceslav Ionita, according to Bani.md.
After a decade of stagnation and weak business confidence, banks have begun issuing loans to companies at record levels. Despite ongoing struggles in agriculture and industry, Moldova has posted the largest increase in business lending in its history. Net lending, which had remained negative following the 2014–2024 banking crisis, began climbing sharply in early 2025.
“We expect this indicator to turn positive in the second or third quarter,” Ionita said. He observed that companies increased borrowing and withdrew deposits to fund new investments.
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Over the past year, Moldovan companies have borrowed nearly 50 billion lei in new loans. This surge began in late 2024 and continued into early 2025. “This is the largest volume of loans ever issued to Moldova’s business sector,” Ionita stressed.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, corporate debt to banks grew by 4.1 billion lei, setting another national record.
Falling interest rates have helped drive this lending boom:
- Loans in Moldovan lei now carry an average interest rate of 8%—the lowest in the country’s history.
- Loans in foreign currencies average 5.9%.
- More than 60% of all loans are in lei, and businesses increasingly prefer long-term loans exceeding five years.
For the first time, corporate debt to banks surpassed 50 billion lei, representing 15.5% of GDP, up from 14.4% in 2024 and 12.8% in 2023. Ionita warned that this pace of lending depends on sustained economic growth.
Banks issued the largest increases in loans to the mortgage, consumer credit, trade, energy, non-bank finance, construction, and service sectors.