TRENDS REGARDING THE EVOLUTION OF THE ROMANIAN BANKING SYSTEM IN RELATION TO THE ONES BELONGING TO CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

This paper aims at highlighting the aspects concerning the impact suffered by the Central and Eastern European banking systems since the onset of the financial global crisis. The focus of the paper is on the position of the Romanian banking system in relation to the Central and Eastern European countries, mainly those countries which were former members of the Communist bloc, in terms of both the prudential and banking profitability indicators. Hence, a comparative case study has been conducted, at a macroeconomic level, regarding the evolution stage of the Romanian banking system in the context of the financial crisis, based on several representative banking systems in Central and Eastern Europe such as Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Russia. The conclusion from these studies is that in Romania, the banking system has made significant progress over the transition to a market economy, as the Romanian banks have been embracing banking strategies intended to improve performance. However, there are still steps necessary to be taken in order to catch up with the most representative banks in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of their level of development and performance.