British investment fund AnaCap is currently negotiating to take over Marfin Bank Romania, a subsidiary of Cyprus Popular Bank, according to Romanian media, quoting sources close to the talks.

This happens soon after Bank of Cyprus' deposits and partial loans in Romania moved to the local subsidiary of Marfin Bank. More than half of the EUR 90 million deposits from Bank of Cyprus Romania were offset by liquidities, and the rest by loans, which were also transferred to Marfin Bank. Marfin was also re-capitalized by EUR 20 million by its parent bank, Popular Bank of Cyprus. The deal was approved by the Cypriot Central Bank and moved the deposits which were previously under the Cypriot legislation to Romanian jurisdiction. The move prevented the bank deposit taxes which are to be applied on all bank deposits in Cyprus, as agreed by the country with international financiers.

The British fund previously tried to buy local lender Banca Carpatica, but failed to reach an agreement with owner Ilie Carabulea.

Established in 2005, AnaCap advises on EUR 1.7 billion of funds, as well as co-investing. The fund managed by AnaCap attracted investors such as Adams Street Partners, Goldman Sachs, Honeywell and Allianz.

The fund was created by Joe Giannamore and Peter Cartwright, former leaders of the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) in UK.

Marfin Bank has 33 outlets and 340 employees in Romania and ended 2012 with assets of some EUR 584 million, a drop of 7.5 percent on the year before.

editor@romania-insider.com