Record fines for banks: 800 million euros for ROBOR manipulation

Romania's Competition Council has drawn up a proposal to impose unprecedented fines totalling approximately 800 million euros against banking institutions accused of manipulating the ROBOR benchmark interest rate.

This decision concerns the alleged coordination between banks in artificially setting the reference interest rate for the Romanian interbank market, a practice said to have taken place in an earlier period and which caused significant harm.

The proposed sanctions represent a dramatic increase compared to previous fines imposed by the competition authority. By way of comparison, in the preceding year, the total of all fines issued by the Competition Council did not exceed 70 million euros.

The ROBOR index serves as a reference for calculating interest rates on Romanian leu-denominated loans extended by banks, directly influencing borrowing costs for millions of Romanians. Any manipulation of this index has a direct impact on the rates paid by consumers on mortgage loans, consumer credit, and loans for small and medium-sized enterprises.

This investigation forms part of the efforts by regulatory authorities to ensure transparency and fairness in the Romanian financial market, thereby protecting the interests of consumers and the business community.

The proposed fine is yet to be examined and validated through the applicable legal procedures, and the banks concerned will have the right to challenge the decision through the available avenues of appeal.