A community at home and abroad

It first went to Italy, being the only Romanian bank present in this country with a branch, and then it also rolled out a digital application. Subsequently, it organized business events in Hungary and Austria, and in September this year, it also expanded to Spain. It went to these countries alongside Romanian companies preparing their international expansion, and organized meetings between diplomats, entrepreneurs, and bank representatives to discuss business opportunities in all these nations–countries that have economic ties and trade exchanges with Romania, countries that invest in Romania, and countries with large communities of Romanians, or as they say, where there is a high concentration of the Romanian diaspora.

But how can a bank become an economic bridge between Romania and other countries, and what role can it play for Romanian companies in their internationalization and expansion strategy into other markets?

Banca Transilvania (BT), the largest bank by assets in Romania and Southeastern Europe, is strategically rethinking the economic relationship between our country and other nations, alongside Romanian firms looking to expand abroad, by also capitalizing on the connection between Romanians at home and those in the diaspora, who play an important role in understanding the business environment across various markets.

BT–one of the largest Romanian entrepreneurial projects, which started over three decades ago in Cluj–has decided to provide financial, strategic, and institutional support for entrepreneurial ideas that take Romanian businesses and brands beyond borders. It aims to connect companies, ideas, and opportunities, seeking to support Romanian businesses in their internationalization process. Discussions at business meetings organized by the bank across various countries focus primarily on the courage to explore new horizons, the essential role of entrepreneurs in developing communities, boosting local economies, and strengthening regional connections.

At the business meetings organized by BT in Hungary or Austria, dialogues focused on the potential of these markets, the challenges faced by entrepreneurs (who came from various counties in Romania) when expanding into other countries, the aspirations of businesspeople, the diaspora, and how Banca Transilvania can support all of these plans.

For example, on October 15, 2025, diplomats, entrepreneurs, and Banca Transilvania representatives convened at the Romanian Embassy in Hungary for an event centered on business opportunities in the Hungarian market. Hungary is Romania’s third-largest trading partner, after Germany and Italy, and ranks 11th among foreign investors in our country. Hungary has approximately 7,000 companies with Romanian capital, while Romania has more than 15,000 companies with Hungarian capital.

Also, on January 12, 2026, the Banca Transilvania Group kicked off its series of 2026 international events in Vienna by organizing the „Connecting Growth – Investing in Romania‟ event, together with the Embassy of Romania in the Republic of Austria. This event brought together representatives from the Romanian and Austrian business communities, Romanian diplomacy, as well as Banca Transilvania and BT Capital Partners.

And, for the first time, a representative of Banca Transilvania–the largest bank in Romania by assets, the most traded stock on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, and the largest bank in Southeastern Europe by assets–was a speaker at „The Central & Eastern European Forum – Where CEE Markets Thrive‟ event. Organized in Vienna on January 13–14, 2026, the forum hosted a record number of around 2,400 participants. It was Omer Tetik, CEO of Banca Transilvania, who delivered the opening presentation for the event’s first financial panel at the beginning of this year, which is one of the most important in Central and Eastern Europe, held in Vienna. We know that Austria is the second-largest foreign end investor in Romania, after Germany, and is a strategic economic partner with a strong presence in energy, banking, industry, infrastructure, and services–sectors that are essential for the competitiveness of the Romanian economy. Furthermore, in the diaspora, Romanians represent the second-largest category of EU immigrants in Austria after Germans, totaling some 150,000 Romanians. Additionally, approximately 22,000 Romanians migrate to Austria every year.

Another event, this time concerning Spain, focuses on a first group of Romanian companies preparing their international expansion; this group is participating in September 2026, in Madrid, in the first market immersion within the Beyond Borders program, launched by Endeavor Romania, together with Romanian Business Leaders and Banca Transilvania.  

The initiative aims to provide the selected companies with relevant market access, expertise, and connections that can support the internationalization process. It facilitates access to entrepreneurs, experts, and members of the Romanian business diaspora in Spain, helping to build connections, understand the local business environment, and identify concrete opportunities for growth and collaboration. The program seeks to shorten the path between the intention to expand and the implementation of a well-planned internationalization strategy, while simultaneously reducing the risk of costly decisions.

The selected Romanian companies operate in various fields, ranging from artificial intelligence, medtech, and software, to food production, services, and logistics. Some of these firms already have a global footprint and are participating in the program to test their expansion and growth plans in the Spanish market.

The Romanian community in Spain is the main factor bringing the economies of the two countries closer together. Romanians are the third largest community of foreign citizens in Spain, with approximately 610,000 residents as of January 1, 2025, according to Eurostat data. Of these, more than 350,000 people were registered in the Spanish social security system as of June 2026, making Romanians the second largest community of foreign workers (people from other countries working in Spain). However, the Romanian diaspora in Spain has evolved from traditional workforce to entrepreneurship.

Romanians also rank among the largest communities of foreign entrepreneurs in Spain, with more than 53,000 sole proprietorships (PFAs) as of March 2026, alongside thousands of micro-enterprises and SMEs. Romanians represent the second-largest group of foreign professionals registered as self-employed individuals in Spain (accounting for 10% of all foreign sole proprietorships in Spain).

All these BT projects came after the bank decided more than a decade ago to open a branch in Italy, being the only Romanian bank in that country. The story of Banca Transilvania in Italy began 12 years ago, and in the first part of 2025, the bank also launched the BT Pay Italia digital application to serve both Romanians residing in Italy and Italian citizens and residents.