Th e necessary capital is €10 million, without considering funds needed for the bank’s development. Lenders say that, while certain banks in the Romanian system will opt for mergers and survival techniques, the would-be 2009 banker will not have given up searching for opportunities, in spite of a worsening of international crisis eff ects.
“I think this is not a propitious moment to lay the foundation for a new bank. A bank requires suffi cient resources, loyal clients, and above all trust. Th e current crisis demands a sometimes dramatic adjustment in every bank’s strategy, converging towards a “core business,” to ensure its sustainability,” said Nicolae Danila, the former head of Romanian banking market leader, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR).
Matei Paun, Managing Partner of BAC Investment Bank, said that 2009 could be subject to mergers and acquisitions on the local banking market. “Th ese are times of preservation and survival. Banca Carpatica and Banca Transilvania are the main targets for acquisitions, but rumors also include names such as RBS Romania and OTP Bank Romania,” he added.
Th e top four players in this sector, in terms of assets, are BCR, Banca Romana de Dezvoltare (BRD), whose majority shareholder is Societe Generale, Volksbank, and Raiff eisen Bank. Banks with majority share packages owned by foreign institutions control 87.9 percent of the banking assets.
