Dutch lender ING Bank plans to reach a market share of 10% in Romania due to its investments in technology and digital, said Aris Bogdaneris, Head of Challengers & Growth Markets within ING Group.

The bank also relies on the potential of an economy that grows by 6% annually to reach this target, Bogdaneris explained, reports local Wall-street.ro.

In the first half of this year, ING Bank Romania increased its market share in lending from 5.4% to 7.1%. As for deposits, its market share advanced to 7.4% from 6.5% last year. The manager didn’t specify a time frame for the bank to reach the 10% target.

Bogdaneris also said that ING Romania was not considering large acquisitions, because “when you buy a new bank you encapsulate an entire heritage”, which is not necessarily compatible with ING’s strategy.

“I don’t think that the Romanian banking system will strengthen quickly,” he added.

“There aren’t many buyers in the market now with enough capital for acquisitions. Banks still have problems with their capital.”

Michal Szczurek, ING Romania CEO, said that the bank was more interested in investing in the digital sector, than in territorial expansion.

“The mobile zone will bring more profit than opening a new unit,” he added.

ING Romania recorded a net profit of EUR 62.4 million in the first half of the year, up 79% year-on-year.

editor@romania-insider.com