Romanian state-owned lender Eximbank remained the sole bidder in the race to buy the Romanian subsidiary of the National Bank of Greece (NBG), Banca Romaneasca, after the U.S. investment fund JC Flowers decided to bid for Leumi Bank, Economica.net reported.

JC Flowers already owns First Bank (formerly Piraeus Bank) in Romania and aims at entering the group of ten largest banks in Romania without endangering its solvency ratio. However, the higher taxes stipulated by the emergency ordinance (OUG) 114/2018 for the banking sector already put pressure on First Bank’s solvency ratio, and JC Flowers reportedly decided to choose a smaller-sized target, Bank Leumi, which is also for sale at this moment when the Romanian banking market undergoes consolidation.

By the end of March, Eximbank might wrap up the takeover negotiations with NBG, according to unofficial sources in the market. The contract will be signed at a later moment, though. The price will be “rather low,” sources said, as no capital increase at Eximbank is prepared for the completion of the deal.

Eximbank is a state lender that specializes in financing import-export operations. The lender doesn't currently have retail banking operations.

editor@romania-insider.com