What ROBOR is and how it differs from IRCC
How ROBOR is set, who still has loans tied to it, and why it reacts faster than IRCC.
Published
What ROBOR is
ROBOR (Romanian Interbank Offer Rate) is the average rate at which banks in Romania offer to lend lei to other banks. There is one value for each term, from one day to 12 months. For loans, the 3-month and 6-month rates are the ones that usually matter.
How it is set
Every banking day at 11:00, a panel of banks submits the rates at which they would lend lei. The extreme values are dropped, and the average of the rest becomes that day's ROBOR, published by BNR.
Worth knowing: ROBOR starts from quotes, meaning advertised rates, not necessarily from completed transactions.
Who still has loans tied to ROBOR
- individuals with variable-rate loans in lei taken out before May 2019;
- companies, for most loans in lei.
New loans in lei for individuals use IRCC.
ROBOR and IRCC, briefly
- What it is based on: ROBOR on quotes, IRCC on real transactions.
- How often it changes: ROBOR daily, IRCC once a quarter.
- How fast it reacts: ROBOR at once, IRCC with a lag of a few months.
When market rates rise, a loan tied to ROBOR gets more expensive sooner. When they fall, it also gets cheaper sooner.
What it means for your payment
Your rate is ROBOR plus the bank's margin, which stays fixed. On a 300,000 lei loan over 25 years, the monthly payment is about 2,026 lei at a total rate of 6.5%, 2,217 lei at 7.5% and 2,416 lei at 8.5%. Each percentage point is roughly 200 lei a month.
What you can do
- Check your contract for the index you are on and how often the rate is updated.
- If your margin is high, compare it with today's offers: refinancing can move you to IRCC or to a fixed rate.
Current ROBOR and IRCC values are on the interest rates page.