The lender grabbed another 1.6 percent share from other players on the market to reach a 6.7 percent market share.
Volkbank Romania, run by Gerald Schreiner, the banker who helped propel the bank in just three years from 16th place to one of the top four major players, now occupies third place at the end of the first nine months in 2008, although it remains to be seen if its evolution in the last quarter will lead to changes among top banks. The Austrians exceeded their 2008 asset growth goals, with a year-on-year plus of 51 percent, and an advance of 54 percent in terms of profit compared to 2007, although it expects moderate growth of assets this year due to market conditions. Schreiner is expecting a 10 percent increase of assets in 2009, and operational profit worth €42 million.
The institution, one of the most aggressive in terms of retail, had a loan portfolio at the end of 2008 of some 3.3 billion, with over 70 percent in individual loans.
