Deloitte | Romania Feed

Banks in Central and Eastern Europe expect new loan disbursements to rebound in 2021, supported by regulatory measures aiming to sustain the lending activity, after a significant year-on-year decrease in 2020, according to COVID-19 CEE banking sector impact survey, conducted by Deloitte in 12 countries in the region, including Romania. The loan demand decreased in the second quarter of 2020 in sectors such as hospitality, transport and storage, real estate and construction, as well as manufacturing. On the other hand, sectors such as wholesale and retail trade and agriculture saw an increase in the demand for loans, according to the survey.

Central Europe’s private equity (PE) firms’ confidence hits lowest level since the global financial crisis, as a result of the COVID-19 impact, but deal-doers are more optimistic than during the 2008 crisis, according to the latest Deloitte CE Private Equity Confidence Survey. The confidence index, which has been decreasing since the end of 2017, is now at 62, the second historical lowest after October 2008, when it reached 48. Seven in ten professionals in Central Europe private equity houses forecast a decline in market activity and worsening economic conditions, given that the regional economies, which are largely consumer-driven, are expecting significant GDP contraction in 2020 amid demand shrink caused by unemployment rise.

Central Europe chief financial officers have reached a pessimism peak as their confidence about the economic outlook and the wider business environment continues to fall amid the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest Deloitte CE CFO Survey, conducted on more than 300 leading finance professionals in six countries - the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. Almost three quarters of the respondents (72%) stated they were less optimistic about their companies’ financial prospects than before the new coronavirus outbreak, with Polish leading the top of the pessimistic (79%), followed by Romanians (75%). The study also shows significant shifts in the perceived levels of uncertainty facing respondents’ businesses, considering that an average of 36% respondents felt a high level of external financial and economic uncertainty in the pre- outbreak edition of the survey, compared to almost 70%, in the latest edition.

The perception of the CFOs in Romania regarding the evolution of the main financial indicators of their companies has changed dramatically in only several months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CFO Survey Romania, conducted by Deloitte in April-May 2020 based on opinions expressed by CFOs in our country. Their main concern for this year is the drop in demand, as 73% of the survey participants estimate a decrease of the internal demand, and 45% of them, of the external demand. The share of those who expect revenues reduction is 67%, while at the end of 2019, 78% of them estimated increases in revenues, according to the survey.

Deloitte was awarded the Tax Firm of the Year in Europe and in the CEE Region, for its remarkable achievements in Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia, at the 2020 European Tax Awards, organized by the prestigious International Tax Review (ITR) publication. Deloitte was also named the Tax Innovator of the Year and the Tax Compliance and Reporting Firm of the Year during the 16 th edition of the competition, which recognizes innovative, breakthrough and valuable projects, based on reviews conducted by ITR journalists, market research and clients’ and professionals’ feedback.