Frequent questions

1. Who guarantees the deposits with Romanian banks? The bank deposits in Romania are guaranteed by the bank deposit guarantee schemes approved by the Central Bank. At the moment the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund is the only deposit guarantee scheme recognized within Romania.

2. What is the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGDB)? FGDB is the institution whose goal is to protect depositors by guaranteeing their deposits in the case a credit institution is declared insolvent. In the case a bank can't reimburse the depositors' money, FGDB makes the compensations payment. Also, FGDB may operate as special administrator, temporary administrator, sole liquidator or shareholder of a bridge institution or of an asset management vehicle, according to legislation on the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms. FGDB is a legal person of public interest. FGDB has been created in 1996 by the Government Ordinance 39/1996.

3. What is the guarantee ceiling? What's its value? The guarantee ceiling is the maximum amount guaranteed in case the bank is declared insolvent. Its value is the leu equivalent of 100,000 euros per depositor, per bank, for private individuals or legal persons. The guarantee ceiling is the same in all European Union countries.

4. What are the situations when deposits higher than 100,000 euros are covered? Deposits higher than 100,000 euros are covered when they result from the following events: residential real estate transactions; events in a depositor’s life such as retirement, dismissal, invalidity or death, receipt of insurance benefits or compensation for criminal injuries or wrongful convictions. The National Bank of Romania shall establish this coverage level and periodically review it based on relevant statistical indicators and shall published it on its official website.

5. Are all banks doing business in Romania FGDB members? Banks that are Romanian legal persons are members of FGDB and deposits placed with them are covered/guaranteed. The branches of banks from the European Union that are doing business in Romania are members and guaranteed by deposit schemes in their country of origin.

6. Where could one check the list of member credit institutions? The list is published in the Romania’s Official Gazette, Part I and also published on FGDB website: check here.

7. What is a deposit? The deposit is any credit balance, including the due interest, which results from funds left in an account or from temporary situations deriving from normal banking transactions and which a credit institution must repay in the legal and contractual conditions applicable, including term deposits and savings deposits. Few examples: ● time deposit ● current account ● savings account ● debit/credit card account ● deposit account ● joint account.

8. What is an eligible deposit? The eligible deposit is the guaranteed deposit. The deposits listed in the Annex no. 1 of the Law no. 311/2015 on Deposit Guarantee Schemes and the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund.

9. What is a covered deposit? The part of eligible deposits which does not exceed the 100,000 euros guarantee ceiling.

10. What is an unavailable deposit? The deposit that is due and payable but has not been paid by a credit institution up to the date of bankruptcy.

11. What are the situations when compensations are paid for covered deposits? Compensations are paid in the following situations: a) The National Bank of Romania, as the administrative authority competent to classify deposits as unavailable, has determined that the respective credit institution, for reasons directly linked to its financial situation, is unable to repay the deposit and has no immediate prospects of being able to do so; b) A court decision on the opening of bankruptcy proceedings for the respective credit institution had been issued before the National Bank of Romania could assess the situation described under letter a).

12. What is the compensation? What is the payment currency? The compensation is the amount of money, within the guarantee level, which a deposit guarantee scheme pays to each guaranteed depositor if deposits, no matter their number, become unavailable. The compensation is paid in lei, no matter the deposit currency.

13. How are compensations paid? Compensations are paid through the banks mandated by the FGDB. Compensations can be handed: - cash, at the front desk of mandated banks; - transferred in another account, indicated by the depositor. FGDB will inform the public regarding the mandated banks in every of its communications regarding compensation payments.

14. When are the compensations paid? FGDB has the legal obligation to make available to depositors whose deposits are covered the due compensations within maximum 7 working days from the day when deposits were declared unavailable. The depositors' right to compensation payments lapses five years after the date when deposit guarantee schemes made the repayable amounts available to them. In case the bankruptcy procedure last longer than the term set above, the depositors' right to get the compensations lapses at the end of the bankruptcy procedure.

15. What is the compensation in case the depositor has no credits at the failed bank? In the case the covered deposits held by the depositor with a bank, including the due interest, have a value under the guarantee ceiling, the paid compensation is the lei equivalent of their value added up.

16. What is the compensation when the depositor has credits or unpaid debts to the failed bank? All deposits held by a depositor with a bank are added up, then the due and unpaid installments and fees are subtracted.

17. When and how will the rest of the credit be paid? The rest of the credit will be paid at the bank where it had been contracted or at the institution that is taking over its credits.

18. What is the founding source of FGDB? The financial resources of a deposit guarantee scheme consist of: a) the annual and extraordinary contributions of member credit institutions; b) earnings from claims recovered; c) revenues from investments of available financial resources; d) loans taken by deposit guarantee schemes; e) payment commitments; f) other resources.

FGDB is not funded from public resources.

19. Is there a risk that the FGDB won't pay compensations? No. In exceptional circumstances, when the available financial resources of the Fund are insufficient to cover compensation payouts or to finance resolutions measures, the Government, through the Ministry of Public Finance, will offer the Fund the necessary amount, as a loan, within maximum five working days upon receiving the Fund’s request.

20. Holders of a joint account benefit separately from compensation? Yes. The compensation shall be determined for each guaranteed depositor who holds a share of the joint account, considering the proportion to which that depositor is entitled in line with contractual and/or legal provisions. In the case of a joint account to which several persons are entitled as members of a business partnership, an association or a similar group, without legal personality, in order to determine the compensation level the deposit in the joint account shall be considered as held by a single depositor.

21. What is the compensation procedure in the case of a depositor having deposits with several bank that go bankrupt? In case a person has deposits with more banks, they are entitled to a compensation within the guarantee ceiling for each bank.

22. Is a deposit owned by a non-profit organization guaranteed? Yes.

23. How is the compensation paid for a deposit that has a holder and a assignee? The compensation is entirely paid to the holder. In order to receive the compensation for the holder, a person should have special mandate.

24. In the case of a deposit whose holder is a child, represented by his legal guardian, are the both of them guaranteed and entitled to compensation? Yes, each of them is entitled to compensation. The guardian benefits from a compensation within the 100.000 euros ceiling. The child benefits from a compensation within the 100.000 euros ceiling. However, the legal guardian is entitled to make transaction on the child account and receive the compensation on behold of the minor.

25. Who gets the compensation in case of the deposit holder passes out? The depositor legal heirs are getting the compensation. The mandate to make transaction on an account is no longer available in case the account holder passes out.

26. In case of a non-guaranteed deposit, how can the depositor get their money back? The deposit holder should make a demand to subscribe his claim recovery to the creditors list according to the Law 85/2014 regarding the Insolvency Code. The demand is to be submitted to the court in charge with the insolvency case.

27. What happens to the governmental bonds bought through the failed bank? When a bank is entering the insolvency procedure, the record with governmental bonds is transferred to another bank through which the buyer will get his money back. The Government of the country issuing the titles is in charge of paying the value of the titles back to buyers.

28. Are deposits with credit cooperatives guaranteed? The central body is member of bank deposits guarantee fund and deposits attracted by the affiliated cooperatives are covered. 29. Are companies' deposits guaranteed? Yes, companies' deposits are guaranteed. The exceptions are stated in the Annex 1 to Law 311/2015.

30. Is the money used to buy electronic coin guaranteed? This money is not considered a deposit and it is not guaranteed by the FGDB. Law 127/2011 regarding the issue of electronic coin states the conditions of insuring this money.