Romania’s largest lender Banca Transilvania said that the tax on financial assets enacted as of January 2019 is nothing less than a nationalization of banks’ profits that will hinder any bank development plan in the coming period.

Banca Transilvania argued that it is a legitimate business, which has provided new funding of 1.5 billion Euro over the last three years to small and medium sized enterprises thus contributing to the country’s economic development, ZF reads.

The tax, if applied quarterly, will have major negative consequences for the banking system, the economy, the population and entrepreneurs, Banca Transilvania stated – on a note indicating that if applied on an annual basis, it might be somehow acceptable.

Government officials confirmed this week that the tax will be levied on a quarterly basis (each time levied on total financial assets by a tax rate depending on the money market interest rates), and not in quarterly tranches.