Commercial real estate lending rises 15% in Romania, report says

Romania's commercial real estate sector accounted for 54% of all loans granted to non-financial companies at the end of the first quarter of 2026, according to an analysis by real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Echinox based on National Bank (BNR) data. Lending to the sector increased by 15% year-on-year, reaching RON 116 billion.

According to the analysis, commercial real estate remains one of the largest recipients of corporate bank financing in Romania, with banks continuing to support both new developments and the refinancing of existing assets. 

One of the largest transactions on the local real estate market was the EUR 400 million development loan granted to IULIUS and Atterbury Europe for the RIVUS Cluj-Napoca mixed-use project. 

Other notable examples are the EUR 372 million refinancing secured by AFI Europe for its portfolio of commercial assets, the EUR 305.6 million financing granted to IULIUS for the Palas Iasi mixed-use project, and the EUR 190 million sustainability-linked facility obtained by NEPI Rockcastle from a consortium of local banks.

Vlad Săftoiu, Head of Research at Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, said: “The financing levels granted to the commercial real estate market confirm this sector’s transformation into a mature component of the Romanian economy. The steady increase of the loans’ stock and the continued interest of banks towards financing real estate projects reflect both the quality of the existing assets and the sustained confidence in the market’s long-term development potential.”

“This is not simply a statistical increase in banking exposure, but evidence of a sector capable of attracting individual financing deals of EUR 200 - 400 million, comparable with those seen in significantly more mature real estate markets.”

The report also found that the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for commercial real estate financing stood at 6.2% in March 2026, up 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier.

While higher than the average NPL ratio of 5.6% recorded for non-financial companies overall, the figure remained below the levels reported for loans granted to companies with state guarantees (11.3%) and to micro-enterprises (7.2%) and small businesses (7.1%), according to BNR data cited in the report.

The findings suggest that, despite a challenging economic environment, commercial real estate financing continues to represent a significant share of corporate lending while maintaining a relatively moderate level of credit risk.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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