Business Forum • 23 July, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Romania's commercial real estate sector accounts for 54% of loans granted to non-financial companies and recorded a 15% annual increase in financing, according to an analysis by Cushman & Wakefield Echinox based on data from the National Bank of Romania (NBR). At the end of March 2026, credit institutions' exposure to the sector reached RON 116 billion, up 15% year-on-year.
The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stands at 6.2%, up 1.1 percentage points compared with the previous year, but remains below the ratio for state-guaranteed company loans (11.3%) and those of micro-enterprises (7.2%) and small enterprises (7.1%). It is above the average NPL ratio for non-financial companies (5.6%) and corporations (4.7%), but the data confirm that financing to the sector remains manageable from a risk perspective.
Banking confidence in the sector is reflected in a series of sizeable transactions over the past year. These include a €400 million development loan to IULIUS and Atterbury Europe for the RIVUS Cluj-Napoca mixed-use project, a €372 million refinancing secured by AFI Europe for its commercial portfolio, a €305.6 million financing for the Palas Iași mixed-use project, and a €190 million sustainability-linked facility obtained by NEPI Rockcastle from a consortium of local banks.
"The financing levels granted to the commercial real estate market confirm this sector's transformation into a mature component of the Romanian economy," said Vlad Săftoiu, Head of Research at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox. "This is not simply a statistical increase in banking exposure, but evidence of a sector capable of attracting individual financing deals of €200–400 million, comparable with those seen in more mature real estate markets."