Polish-based Getin Noble Bank Group entered the Romanian market by launching the Noble Securities brokerage subsidiary in the country.

The brokerage firm will first launch the Noble Markets in Romania, allowing online trading with 200 financial instruments, and plans to add more financial instruments in the future and become a financial investment company – SSIF – on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, said Victor Safta, head of the Bucharest subsidiary with Noble Securities (in picture). Safta had run the X-Trade brokers local subsidiary for three and a half years, until February this year.

“The Romanian market has a high potential, and the appetite for trading on financial markets is too little stimulated. In other words, we have a lot of work, but in maximum three years, Noble Securities will be leader on a growing market,” said Safta.

In Poland, Noble Securities is also involved in share issuance, CO2 and green certificates trading. The aim for Romania is to become the market leader in maximum three years.

Expansion to Romania falls into the regional expansion plan the group has started in recent years. “Last year, our group bought two banks, in Poland and in Russia, and invested in our companies and still made a profit of EUR 480 million with Getin Noble Bank and Getin Holding. With this background, expanding in Romania was only natural,” said Czcibor Dawid, CEO Noble Securities.

Noble Securities was set up in 1994 and was acquired by Getin Holding in 2008. It became part of Getin Noble Bank Group of Companies in 2012, after a reorganization.

Noble Securities is accredited by the Romanian Securities Commission (CNVM), which rules that clients' funds are deposited in a different bank account than the company's and never leave the country. According to the Polish Central Depositary, each client is guaranteed a minimum threshold of EUR 19,000.

Getin Noble Bank includes two brands, Getin Bank (retail banking) and Noble Bank (private banking). The group also includes Noble Funds, Getin Leasing, Open Finance, the Russian bank Kubanbank, the Belarus bank Sombelbank and the Ukrainian Idea Bank Ukraine.

Corina Chirileasa, corina@romania-insider.com