Black Friday is the day banks beg us to spend and the same banks' chief economists ask us to refrain
It's that time of year when commercials become a special breed of motivational literature. “It's worth making yourself happy!”, “Profit now!”, “You pay in 12 installments without interest!” — the mantra of the month of November.
Banks compete to be more generous than Santa Claus: instant loans, cashback, bonuses, interest reductions, all for you to buy faster, more and, preferably, on debt.
The irony? exactly at the same time the chief economists of these banks publishes serious analysis explaining, with charts and graphs, that Romania consumes far more than it can handle and produces too littlethat the current account deficit is growing alarmingly and that, in the end, we will find ourselves with unpopular measures that we will all pay for. In other words, the banks are telling you: “Buy!”and their economists add in a whisper: “But know that they come with some costs”
We buy on credit, we pay with inflation
According to BNR and INS data, between January and August 2025, Romania imported goods worth over 85 billion eurosagain current account deficit jumped off 18.8 billion euros.
In other words, we import much more than we produce, and cover the difference with loans.
It's like going to the mall with a full credit card and an empty savings account—except, nationally, the bill is called inflation, exchange rate and higher interest rates.
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A typical Romanian paradox
The same bank that offers you “interest-free rates” will, in a month's time, send you a report in which the chief economist warns that “the economy is drooling on unsustainable consumption” and that the “external deficit is deepening dangerously”.
It's a perfect symbiosis: marketing stimulates the appetite for shopping, and economic analysis provides excuses for future increases in taxes, interest and fees.
The circle closes elegantly: we consume, we overheat the economy, the state intervenes with “responsible” measures, and we also pay for them — through price increases, new taxes and more expensive loans
An economy that lives on debt
The figures are clear: while exports are growing timidly, imports are taking the lead.
The current account deficit, i.e. the difference between what we bring into the country and what we sell abroad, is already at levels that worry the European institutions.
In plain language: every TV, phone or blender bought in “interest-free” installments means currency leaving the country, pressure on the leu and risk of inflation. We have muscles, but we inflate other people's pumps with them.
But it's hard to resist when everything around you tells you that “you deserve it!”.
The illusion of interest-free rates (and the reality of monetary adjustments)
Banks are not charities. When they offer you “interest-free installments”, the cost is already included – either in the price of the product, or in the commission paid by the store, or in the hidden value of your consumption data. What's more, when you sign for that laptop in 12 installments, you're betting that the next year will be as financially stable as this one.
But here is the big contradiction: while the bank approves your loan in 30 seconds, the BNR keeps the monetary policy interest at 6.50% precisely to control the inflationary pressures generated by the aggressive consumption and external imbalances that you have just amplified.
And when inflammation becomes too great, who bears the cost of adjustments? In no case the bank, it being left with a granny profit. But you pay the bill, by:
- Higher interest on future loans
- Depreciation of the leu (which means even more expensive imports, higher phone bills, etc.)
- Austerity measures (budget wage cuts, public investment cuts)
- Inflation eating away at your purchasing power
So you basically pay twice: once when you buy the product, and a second time when the economy adjusts for the imbalance you helped create.
The best deal: self-control
The truth is, in a world where everyone urges you to spend, don't buy anything it's an act of financial rebellion.
There is no cashback for caution, no promotion for frugality. But there is silence.
Because in the end, every Black Friday leaves behind the same kind of financial hangover: more empty boxes, less money in your bank account, and an economy that keeps swelling with debt.
So the next time your bank sends you a “It's time to give yourself a gift!” note, remember that their chief economist is probably just writing in a report:
“Consumption based on imports remains the main vulnerability of the Romanian economy.”
And that, inevitably, we will all share the bill — even those who didn't buy anything.
