Romanian state-owned bank EximBank announced on December 30 that it entered “the attractive retail market”, becoming a full-service universal bank, after the National Bank of Romania (BNR) gave it the final consent to take over Banca Romaneasca (BROM) from the National Bank of Greece.

The resulting bank, to be rebranded in 2023, has assets of RON 21.5 bln (EUR 4.2 bln), which makes it the 8th largest bank in the country by assets, while its capital is RON 1.6 bln (EUR 320 mln), according to Ziarul Financiar.

EximBank and NBG signed the merger by absorption contract three years and a half earlier, in June 2019.

EximBank said it paid almost EUR 60 mln “for a purchased capital [of BROM] of approximately EUR 130 mln”. However, the deal with NBG included the repayment of the subordinated loan granted by NBG to BROM (another EUR 65 mln). Supplementary, BROM had to repay from its own resources the EUR 90 mln intragroup to its former parent bank (NBG).

The transaction did not involve any funding from the state budget, EximBank stressed in its press release.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Florin Brezeanu | Dreamstime.com)