ROMANIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stan Tîrnoveanu and Alexandru Iorgulescu, Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners Attorneys At Law
Referral in the interest of the law with impact on insolvency procedures In November 2024 the High Court delivered Decision No 22/2024 by which it ruled with mandatory effect that Article 75 paragraph (1) and (2) letter a) of Law No 85/2014, must not derogate from the common- law provisions of the Civil Procedure Code that oblige the judicial review court, vested with multiple appeals (both creditor and debtor) to judge all such appeals. The decision basically clarifies that if the insolvency procedure is opened against the defendant debtor after the closing of the debates or during the resolu - tion of the appeals, the appeal court will continue to judge the appeals (ie, the judge will not suspend the judgment in the appeal/suspend the appeal brought by the creditor). Significant Sectoral Developments Auto industry Regarding the production of new cars, there was a small decline in vehicle production in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same interval in 2024. At the same time, the gap between the two major manufacturing companies Dacia and Ford Otosan has diminished, with a volume of 185,490 units produced by Dacia and 161,310 produced by Ford Otosan in the first eight months of 2025. The total number of new cars registered in the first seven months of 2025 was 80,615 units, which represents a decrease of 15.3% compared to the same period in 2024. It is expected that the reductions will not be recovered by the end of the year as the increase in VAT from 19% to 21% will also be felt by this market. However, some hope for recovery exists, as the gov - ernment recently announced that the “Rabla” national programme (state financing for the acquisition of new cars) will continue in 2025, although subsidies will be reduced. Regarding the parts manufacturing industry, Romania continues to be attractive for establishing or relocating production, with new production units announced, such as that of Great Wall Motors – one of China’s largest automotive companies – or takeovers of existing factories for expansion purposes, such as in the case of Yokohama Rubber – a tyre giant from Japan.
Banking sector The banking sector continues its consolidation pro - cess, as the merger between Intesa San Paulo and First Bank was completed on 31 October 2025, and the merger between Unicredit Bank and Alpha Bank is expected to be finalised by the end of 2025. The share of banks with Romanian capital, in the total capital of the banking system, had reached 50% at the end of 2024. Although the banks active on the Romanian market made consistent profits in 2024, according to the financial stability report published by the National Bank of Romania (NBR) in June 2025, the prospects are not encouraging. NBR advises on the increase in risk of default on loans contracted by the non-gov - ernment sector amid the deterioration of the financial health of Romanian companies, a local problem that adds to the impact of global phenomena, such as the modification of US tariff policies and the slowing down of global economic growth. On the other hand, NBR remarks that the net wealth of the population has increased significantly in the last decade and provides an important financial reserve for households in the event of an adverse shock. The banking system will also feel the direct impact of the measures adopted by the government through Law No 141/2025, which introduced an additional tax on turnover that is added to the profit tax owed by credit institutions and which will be 2%, for the period 1 January 2025 – 30 June 2025 inclusive, then 4% for the period 1 July 2025 – 31 December 2026 inclusive. It remains to be seen whether the new tax will be challenged or whether, given the scope of its measures and its temporary nature, it will be absorbed. Construction sector The first semester of 2025 saw a 5.9% increase in construction volume in Romania, compared to the same period in 2024, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). This makes the construction sector another important contribu - tor to GDP growth. The building materials industry is also experiencing a major investment boom amid the construction boom. This advance is, however, likely to be jeopardised by the effects of the fiscal and budget - ary measures adopted by the government in July and August 2025. On the one hand, the increase in the VAT rate will make the purchase of construction materials and services more expensive, while also generating a
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