Banks hit with sanctions
Ten commercial banks in Romania were levied with stinging fines for breaking the competition law.
Ştefan Stoica, 08.06.2026, 13:50
The Competition Council has levied unprecedented sanctions on 10 commercial banks in Romania, which it found guilty of violating the competition rules, namely the competition law and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, by colluding when setting the ROBOR reference rate. The fines amount to 3.73 billion lei, the equivalent of over 700 million euros. The decision did not target regulations or policies in the banking sector, but is limited exclusively to the behaviour of banks during the ROBOR fixing period and is based on the discovery of the violation of competition rules and no other rules, explained Bogdan Chiriţoiu, the president of the Competition Council.
The competition body notes that, following the investigation, it found that the banks participating in the ROBOR setting procedure colluded through an exchange of confidential and strategic information, especially in terms of price, regarding the ROBOR level within the fixing procedure. Specifically, within this procedure, while firm quotes should be independent, banks coordinated based on competitors’ quotes. ROBOR is the reference rate of the interbank monetary market that influences the calculation of interest rates for loans granted to legal entities (including state entities, such as local public authorities), but also the calculation of interest rates for individuals who have contracted loans prior to 2019.
The independence of quotes during the fixing period is important, because the result of the fixing procedure is used to calculate interest rates on a number of loans. Thus, a high rate may be favourable to lenders and directly affects consumers and other debtors whose contracts take ROBOR into account. “The problem arises in the case of firm quotes submitted during the fixing period, which must be confidential. Given the large volume of loans, variations of even a fraction of a percentage point can translate into substantial amounts,” emphasised the president of the Competition Council.
The investigation was launched at the end of 2022 and has gone through al required stages, including the mandatory approval stage within the cooperation mechanism with the European Commission. The banks now have one month to challenge the sanctions and two months to present plans to eliminate anti-competitive practices. The decisions of the Competition Council are enforceable, and the fines collected will go to the state budget. The decision can be appealed in court within 30 days from the communication of the justification. The competition law prohibits any agreements between companies that prevent, restrict or distort competition on the Romanian market.
