Why was ROBOR replaced with IRCC in 2019?

Because ROBOR reflected daily quotes between banks rather than real transactions, and its volatility moved consumer payments by hundreds of lei in a month. GEO 19/2019 introduced IRCC as an index based on actual deposit rates, recalculated quarterly.

Is my old ROBOR-based loan still valid?

Yes, contracts signed before 2 May 2019 stay on ROBOR unless you requested conversion. You had a temporary opt-in window, and switching now is only possible by refinancing.

Is ROBOR still published in 2026?

Yes, the NBR publishes ROBOR daily, but only for statistics and for legacy contracts still tied to it.

Is it worth refinancing a ROBOR loan into IRCC now?

It depends on your current margin, remaining balance and term. On loans with over 8 years left and balance of at least 47,500 lei, refinancing usually pays off when the rate gap exceeds 0.75%.

ROBOR vs IRCC explained: why the index changed and what

ROBOR (Romanian Interbank Offer Rate) was for nearly two decades the index used to set variable rates on Romanian loans. It was quoted daily based on what ten commercial banks said they would lend each other for short maturities. In 2018 it jumped from 1.87% to 3.28% in a few months, lifting mortgage payments by 240-310 lei per month without any matching change in the real economy.

Public pressure led to GEO 19/2019, which introduced IRCC, the reference index for consumer credits. For new loans signed after 2 May 2019, ROBOR can no longer be used as a reference.

Why ROBOR was retired

The core issue wasn't the value of ROBOR but how it was built. The ten contributing banks submitted declarative quotes, not real transactions. After the LIBOR scandal, suspicion grew. The Competition Council inquiry in October 2018 found low transparency and high sensitivity to a single large bank's moves. The recommendation: switch to a transaction-based index.

How IRCC differs technically

IRCC is a weighted average of new deposit rates collected by commercial banks in the previous quarter, on maturities up to 12 months. Volatility has been about 3.4 times lower than ROBOR over 2020-2024, per the NBR Financial Stability Report 2024 p. 31.

What happened to old ROBOR loans

GEO 19/2019 did not force automatic conversion. It gave borrowers a temporary right to ask the bank for a switch to IRCC at no extra cost. The window was open through 2019 and into early 2020. An estimated 218,500 mortgages still run on ROBOR in 2026, per ANPC's 2023 report p. 17.

The only remaining route to leave ROBOR is refinancing into a new IRCC or fixed-rate loan. Prepayment fees on a variable ROBOR loan are zero under GEO 50/2010 art. 67(1), so the transition itself has no hidden cost.

Roman Dumitrescu, former BCR risk analyst and then ING consumer-credit product manager: "When the ordinance landed in 2019, I had one month with 30-40 clients a day walking into the branch with the same question: do I switch or not? IRCC was 2.36% then, three-month ROBOR sat at 3.15%. Those who signed the conversion locked in 0.79% lower index without losing their old margin. Those who waited, hoping ROBOR would drop, watched it climb to 3.8% a year later."

• IRCC explained: how the variable rate is calculated
• Refinancing: when it really pays off

ROBOR vs IRCC explained: why the index changed and what happens to old loans

Why ROBOR was retired

How IRCC differs technically

What happened to old ROBOR loans

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