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The Causes and Nature of the Rapid Growth of Bank Credit in the Central, Eastern and South-eastern European Countries

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Rapid Credit Growth in Central and Eastern Europe

Part of the book series: Procyclicality of Financial Systems in Asia ((IMF))

Abstract

Credit growth has taken center stage in the policy arena in Central, Eastern, and South-eastern Europe (CEE).2 To some extent, this has not been a surprising development. Indeed, given the under-development of the financial sector at the beginning of the transition, and particularly with regard to lending to the private sector, financial deepening in the region was to be expected. In 1998, the EBRD Transition Report, with a special focus on the financial sector in transition, had already raised the question of whether financial sector development would be a stable process.3 Six years later, stability issues related to strong credit growth have become a key policy challenge, with the 2004 Transition Report warning of financial and macroeconomic “risks over the medium term” posed by the “substantial increases in domestic bank lending” witnessed in many transition countries.4

European Central Bank (ECB). The contribution of Calin Arcalean (Indiana University) was made during his stay at the ECB in 2005. The authors would like to thank Georges Pineau and Cristina Vespro for helpful comments and Andre Geis for excellent research assistance.

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Authors
  1. Calin Arcalean
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  2. Oscar Calvo-Gonzalez
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  3. Csaba Móré
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  4. Adrian van Rixtel
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  5. Adalbert Winkler
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  6. Tina Zumer
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Editor information

Charles Enoch İnci Ötker-Robe

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© 2007 Calin Arcalean, Oscar Calvo-Gonzalez, Csaba Móré, Adrian van Rixtel, Adalbert Winkler, and Tina Zumer

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Arcalean, C., Calvo-Gonzalez, O., Móré, C., van Rixtel, A., Winkler, A., Zumer, T. (2007). The Causes and Nature of the Rapid Growth of Bank Credit in the Central, Eastern and South-eastern European Countries. In: Enoch, C., Ötker-Robe, İ. (eds) Rapid Credit Growth in Central and Eastern Europe. Procyclicality of Financial Systems in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137001542_2

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