The bank offers the same 30-year mortgage two ways: a variable rate of 7.58% today, or 6.5% fixed for five years and variable after that. The fixed one is 290 lei a month cheaper, and "fixed" sounds safe.
In short: on a lei mortgage, "fixed" usually means fixed for the first few years. After that, the rate follows the market. So the real question isn't fixed or variable, but how big a rise your budget can take, and when it might come. Work out the instalment at 3 percentage points above today's rate. If it still fits (the example below uses 40% of net income), a variable rate is a risk you can carry. If it doesn't, fix the rate for longer, borrow less, or build a buffer first. Between June 2021 and October 2022, lei interbank rates rose by 6.61 points [1].
- Ask how long the rate is fixed and what it becomes after
- Work out the instalment at +1, +2 and +3 points
- Compare it with 40% of your net income
- Fits? A variable rate is a risk you can carry
- Doesn't fit? Fix for longer, borrow less or build a buffer
What fixed and variable mean on a lei mortgage
A variable rate is an index plus the bank's margin. For most variable-rate mortgages in Romania the index is the IRCC, which the BNR calculates every quarter and which moves more slowly than market rates. The IRCC calculated at the end of 2025 was 5.58% [2]. With a margin of 2 points, the rate is 7.58%.
"Fixed" usually means fixed for an initial period. In March 2024, 68% of new mortgages had a variable rate for the whole term; by March 2026, 45% had the rate fixed for the first 1 to 5 years, and the BNR notes that these loans need watching once the fixed period ends [2]. When it ends, the rate becomes index + margin, at whatever the index is by then.
A percentage point is the simple difference between two rates: 1 point takes 7.58% to 8.58%. On a long loan, every point moves the instalment by roughly 10%.
The example: 400,000 lei over 30 years
Two made-up but realistic offers for the same amount and term. Instalments are calculated with the annuity formula that the site's loan calculators use.
- Variable: IRCC 5.58% + 2% margin = 7.58%. 2,818.80 lei a month.
- Fixed for 5 years: 6.5% for five years, then IRCC + 2%. 2,528.27 lei a month for the first five years.
The household's net income is 9,000 lei. BNR rules cap all debt payments at 40% of net income for lei loans when you borrow [3]: 3,600 lei here. Both offers fit today, at 31.3% and 28.1%. Now raise the variable rate:
| Rate | Instalment | Share of income | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 7.58% | 2,818.80 lei | 31.3% |
| +1 point | 8.58% | 3,098.36 lei | 34.4% |
| +2 points | 9.58% | 3,386.79 lei | 37.6% |
| +3 points | 10.58% | 3,682.90 lei | 40.9% |
| +6.61 points, as in 2021–22 | 14.19% | 4,799.71 lei | 53.3% |
2.72 points
What the fixed rate buys, and what it doesn't
For the first five years, the fixed offer costs 151,696 lei in instalments against 169,128 lei for the variable one: 17,432 lei less, and no rate rise can touch it.
But look at what's left when the five years end: 374,444 lei of the 400,000. You've repaid 6.4% of the loan, and the other 93.6%, over 25 years, now follows the IRCC.
- At today's IRCC (7.58%), the new instalment is 2,786.62 lei.
- At 3 points more (10.58%), it is 3,556.85 lei, 39.5% of 9,000 lei.
- After a rise like 2021–22 (14.19%), it is 4,561.93 lei.
At the reset the loan can take 3.16 points above today's rate before it passes 3,600 lei, barely more than the variable loan's 2.72 today. The fixed rate doesn't make the risk smaller; it moves it five years later. Those five years are still worth something: time to build a buffer, to pay extra off the loan, or to refinance if rates fall.
How big can a rise be?
The three-month lei interbank rate (ROBOR) averaged 1.35% in June 2021 and 7.96% in October 2022 [1]: 6.61 points in 16 months. The IRCC moved less, because it adjusts more slowly [2], but older loans tied to ROBOR felt the whole move. So a 3-point test isn't a worst case; it's the minimum worth checking.
Hungary saw more. The three-month BUBOR, the forint index, went from 1.05% on 30 June 2021 to 16.76% on 26 October 2022, and was 5.50% on 27 October 2026 [4]. There, the rules build the stress test into the loan: with under 800,000 Ft of net income, the instalment can take up to 50% of it if the rate is fixed for at least 10 years, 35% for 5 to 10 years, and 25% for a shorter fixed period or a variable rate [5]. In the Hungarian version of this post, a 30 million forint loan over 20 years at 6.5% fixed for 10 years needs about 447,000 Ft of net income; at 7.5% variable it needs about 806,000 Ft.
What this leaves out
- Rates can fall too. If the IRCC drops, a variable rate follows it and a fixed one doesn't. Ask what it costs to repay early or refinance during the fixed period.
- The margin. "Index + margin" is predictable only if the margin stays the same. Check that the contract says so for the whole term.
- Your income moves too. The example assumes 9,000 lei for 30 years. A raise makes the same instalment lighter; losing one income makes every row above heavier.
- 40% is the approval rule, not a comfort level. It applies when you borrow; nothing stops the instalment growing past it later. Your real limit is what's left after your regular costs, which may be lower.
- Fees and insurance aren't in the instalments above. Compare offers on the APR, THM or DAE, and remember it assumes today's rate for the whole term.
Try it with your offer
Enter the amount, rate and term from your offer, note the instalment, then raise the rate by 1, 2 and 3 points and divide each instalment by your net income. Your inputs stay in your browser.
The nominal rate from the offer, not the APR. Add the fees below to see the APR.
One-off costs taken at the start: arrangement, disbursement, valuation.
Costs paid with every instalment: account fee, mandatory insurance.
Optional fee applied to the principal you pay off early.
Fixed for 360 months
First payment: $292.13 principal + $2,526.67 interest
Total Repaid: $1,014,771.43
on $400,000.00 principal
Interest rate 7.58% → APR 7.85%. This isn't an extra cost: you're still charged 7.58% a year. With no fees, the APR is higher only because of how it is calculated: it counts that you pay interest every month, not once a year.
Standard payoff
Original schedule total: $1,014,771.43
With extra payments
Accelerated total: $1,014,771.43
The table below follows the accelerated path to zero and includes any early repayment fee.
* This is a mathematical estimate. Record actuals in Volora to track real-world progress.
For an offer that is fixed first and variable later, the mortgage calculator puts both side by side and runs a stress test of +1 to +5 points.
Do this today
Ask the bank three things in writing: how long the rate is fixed, what it becomes after (which index, what margin), and the instalment at today's index. Work out the instalment at 3 points more and divide it by your net income. If it's above 40%, or above what's left after your regular costs, don't sign the variable version as it is: fix the rate for longer, borrow less, or first put the difference aside (864.10 lei a month in the example) in an emergency fund.
Once you've signed, record the mortgage in the Volora app as a mortgage wallet with its outstanding balance. Volora projects the monthly payment over the remaining term and counts the loan as debt in your net worth. When the fixed period ends, update the payment in the wallet.