BCR in 350m-euro bond launch

The Romanian Commercial Bank (Banca Comerciala Romana – BCR), Romania”s largest bank, is preparing to make a new move on the international capital market: a bond issue worth some 300 million euros, Dan Bunea, the bank”s executive vice-president, told Ziarul Financiar.

The operation still needs some fine-tuning, but BCR has already received offers from 19 investment banks and is to select the winners.

In late March, BCR borrowed 400 million dollars through a syndicated loan handled by 24 banks. The interest rate was set at 0.725 percentage points above the LIBOR rate for three months – a record minimum for an entity contracting a foreign loan without state guarantees.

The bank”s chairman, Nicolae Danila, says the money derived from the eurobond issue will be used to finance operations, as BCR still feels the need for long-term resources which the local market is not yet able to supply. In the meantime, BCR is also preparing for privatisation again, with Danila saying the bank is ready to set up the data rooms for interested investors.

To support its financing projects, BCR is also planning to contract two direct lines of finance from two main foreign banks.

At the end of February, the banking system had to pay back foreign loans worth more than 4.7 billion euros, double last year”s level. Medium and long-term financing accounts for some 75% of the total. Most banks need foreign currency financing to meet the market”s demand for euro and dollar-denominated loans.

razvan.voican@zf.ro