“The crisis has led us to close our Buzau and Constanta branches, keeping only the Bucharest headquarters. We are trying to adapt to new market conditions to face the crisis. The situation is very difficult for us,” said Sorin Apostol, General Manager of KBC Securities.
KBC is the largest broker on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), having occupied top spot in the past two years among the most active brokerage firms on BVB. KBC Securities brokered transactions in 2008 worth some RON 2 billion, although it dropped to third place among top brokers in December, with turnover worth ROn 40.3 million, losing the top spot to Raiffeisen Capital&Investment.
Last year, an increasing nubmer of brokers on the stock exchange have announced layoffs and branch closures.
Carpatica Invest, Banca Carpatica’s brokerage firm, announced it will lay off 12 brokers, after closing 8 branches at the beginning of this year, according to data communicated to CNVM. Carpatica Invest was 7th top broker last year, with turnover of some RON 660 million.
Some 400 brokers were laid off last year, and several tens of branches were closed.
