BANCA TRANSILVANIA S.A. Romanian joint-stock company ...

Table 4. Foreign equity capital of credit institutions in Romania until December 31, 2011Mil. ron %Greece 4 192,5 22,9Austria 3 795,8 20,8Netherlands 2 102,3 11,5Italy 899,5 4,9Hungary 661,2 3,6Cyprus 653,9 3,6France 578,5 3,2EBRD 261,7 2,0Other countries 350,6 1,7Portugal 267,1 1,5Israel 247,8 1,4Germany 191,9 1,1SUA 152,2 0,8Aggregate foreign capital of 14 455,0 79,0the banking systemSum of the credit institutions 18 289,4 100,0In the context of Romania's EU accession and the liberalization of services, 349 foreigninstitutions have notified their intention to conduct a direct banking in Romania, of which 230banks, 3 non-bank financial institutions, 16 electronic money issuer institutions and 100 paymentinstitutions.The Economy of Romania – General InformationThe first semester of 2012 has seen a growth in GDP of 0.7% compared to the first semester of2011, according to INS (National Institute of Statistics). Harsh winter conditions dragged downeconomic activity in the first quarter (0.1% q-o-q) but growth recovered in the second quarter(0.5% q-o-q) due to robust investment and private consumption. However, the severe summerdrought, waning consumer confidence and renewed difficulties in absorbing EU funds point to ableaker outlook. Weak economic activity is expected to depress import demand, keeping thecurrent-account deficit broadly stable. Risks to growth continue to be tilted to the downside in2012 but become more balanced over the forecast horizon.GDP growth for 2012 is forecast to be relatively subdued at about 0.8%, with domestic demandas its main driver.In 2013, GDP growth should recover to 2.2%. While investment is the main component behindgrowth, it is projected to slow down compared to 2012 due to depressed activity in the rest of theEU and domestic uncertainties.58