BCR Administrare Fond de Pensii received approval yesterday from the Commission Supervising the Private Pension System (CSSPP) to become a mandatory pension system company (the so-called Second Pillar of the pension system), according to a company press release.
The new pension legislation, passed last year, is meant to redirect part of state pensions to the private sector. Thus, a portion of the mandatory contribution of employees to the pension system is to be transferred to private administrators as of 2008. By the end of 2007, employees under the age of 35 must choose a company to administer their mandatory private pensions. The company has an initial share capital of RON 50 million (€15 million), of which BCR owns 99.99 percent. Following its authorization, BCR Administrare Fond de Pensii applied to be registered with the Trade Registry and for authorization of its pension plan. The bank was also authorized by CSSPP to deposit private pension funds, while the group’s life insurance company, BCR Asigurari de Viata SA, received the green light to administer optional private pension funds. BCR is part of the Austrian Erste Bank Group.
