Erste Group will appoint Czech Tomas Spurny to run BCR, the largest Romanian lender by assets, replacing Dominic Bruynseels, according to Mediafax newswire, quoting sources on the banking market.

Tomas Spurny has run the CIB Bank in Hungary, an Intesa Sanpaolo subsidiary, since 2009. He previously ran the Czech investment fund PPF as well as Vseobecna Uverova Banka in Slovakia. Spurny, 46, is a Columbia University graduate. He started work in the banking system with the Manufacturers Hanover Trust, and continued to work with the European American Bank in New York. In the past, he was an associate of consultancy firm McKinsey.

Bruynseels took over the helm of BCR, a bank with EUR 16.5 billion in assets in 2008. His mandate was to end mid-this year. BCR recently announced the departure of Romanian Oana Petrescu from the executive vice president seat. Her position was filled by Czech Martin Skopek. We wrote about this here.

editor@romania-insider.com