Bogza sees bank bonds as everyday occurrence

The release of bonds by one of the top three banks in Romania will open a very important door for the entire Romanian banking system, with banks therefore successfully broadening their medium and long-term funding sources, NBR vice-governor Mihai Bogza feels. “So far the banks have largely had three major sources to sustain lending: their own equity capitals, the loans raised from the domestic and international markets and deposits, with the last of them also the most volatile. Now a fourth source practically adds up, which will certainly be used more and more often. I don’t know if BRD’s issue will be successful, but I hope it will. The thing is that these issues will become so frequent in two or three years that no one will care to remember whether the first was successful or not. Just look at the T-bills. They are an everyday occurrence,” Bogza said. ZF

UTI Systems bets on IT&C

UTI Systems, the largest company in the UTI Grup, which deals in security systems and IT&C, estimates business to triple this year, with the sales target set at 27.8 million euros from the 10.2 million euros in 2003. The company bets on an expansion to fields that have a high potential and provide good profitability, such as the information and communications technology, and therefore is interested in raising cash from investors. With a profit rate of 11%, the company might be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange this year, Tiberiu Urdareanu, UTI Grup’s chairman said. The turnover of UTI Grup, held 96% by Tiberiu Urdareanu, amounted to 32.5 million euros ($36.7 million) in 2003, down 13% in euros from the previous year. The turnover in dollars, however, went up some 5%. ZF