Baron of rolling stock sets up bank with ASE professors

Industrialist Valer Blidar, who has developed a group of companies with several million euros in turnover around the only Romanian manufacturer of passenger rolling stock, Astra Vagoane Calatori, will set up the third bank with Romanian private majority capital – Banca Comerciala Feroviara (Romanian Railroad Commercial Bank). The bank’s Board of Directors includes two very well known professors of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Nicolae Dardac (vice-chancellor of the Academy) and Vasile Raileanu (dean of the Accounting and Management Information Systems faculty). At one point Nicolae Dardac was a member of the Board of Directors of the NBR (National Bank of Romania). 90% of the capital will be controlled by Blidar and his companies, while almost 10% will be controlled by SC Atelierele CFR Grivita SA, which, according to some information, is controlled by businessman Fathi Taher, one of the Marriott shareholders. According to official documents, CFR Grivita is controlled by the employee association.