BCR assets up 1bn euros in six months

The assets of Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) rose to over seven billion euros in the first half of the year, at a time when the bank”s number of clients has risen steadily to around 4.9 million and the number of accounts it manages to more than 8.3 million.

Some 90% of the bank”s clients are private people, consolidating BCR”s position as a retail bank.

The bank also has a significant amount of corporate clients, however, and its loans granted on this segment account for some 85% of the bank”s total. Industrial companies account for 50% of the bank”s corporate loans portfolio, while trading companies have a 17% share and public administration has a ten percent share.

The surge in assets by more than one billion euros over six months happened as the bank expanded its network by adding over 20 new branches. The newly opened branches are located mainly in provincial towns, some with less than 20,000 inhabitants that had so far remained beyond the reach of most banks, with the exception of CEC.

Another four branches were opened yesterday – in Ramnicu Valcea, Cluj Napoca, Galati and Iasi. BCR”s network now has 329 branches and agencies, and covers all the towns in Romania with over 10,000 inhabitants. BCR also has Romania”s largest network of cash machines (close to 1,000) and its portfolio includes thirteen types of credit and debit cards.

To support its expansion projects the bank is increasingly looking to financing from foreign markets. Since the beginning of the year BCR has taken out two syndicated loans worth almost 475 million dollars. The bank is also preparing to launch a eurobond issue in September worth at least 300 million euros. BCR has mandated ABN AMRO Bank and BNP Paribas to handle the eurobond issue, both of which are on the list of ten investors likely to submit bids in the privatisation of BCR. razvan.voican@zf.ro