Bancpost sets up own financial group

Bancpost plans to acquire a financial investment services company (SSIF), which it deems the best choice to help it expand operations on the brokerage segment, Geroge Michelis, Bancpost general manager, told Ziarul Financiar.

“We will very soon enter the leasing market with a company set up with our own human and financial resources, but, to be able to more easily provide our customers with brokerage services as well, we will probably make an acquisition,” says Michelis.

Bancpost has several choices, as the Bucharest Stock Exchange counts 68 financial investment services companies among its shareholders.

Of these companies, 12 SSIFs belong to some banks operating on the financial market as group structures, with subsidiaries specialised along various segments. Starting this year, legislation allows banking entities direct access to bourse transactions, possibly through the absorption of specialised firms they already own.

For the time being, no such absorption has taken place.

A similar project regarding the takeover of a brokerage was last year considered by Eurom Bank, but no transaction eventually materialised. Such a transaction involves plenty of bureaucracy and the high costs are to be taken into consideration as well, especially after the 68 firms became stakeholders in the BSE.

According to estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the value of a stake revolves 200,000 euros. The easy targets are indebted investment services firms that can be practically purchased without paying anything above the value of the respective debts.
razvan.voican@zf.ro