Broker goes shopping

Brokerage firm SSIF Broker, which is based in Cluj-Napoca, has plans to merge with a series of brokerage firms from Craiova, Constanta and Bucharest. SSIF Broker’s Craiova target is Invest Trust, sources on the capital market told Ziarul Financiar. “It is true that we want to expand our presence in areas currently not well covered by Broker; and Craiova, Constanta and Bucharest are among our priorities,” said Petru Prune, the SSIF Broker chairman. He chose not to name the firms being targeted in these cities, however. Invest Trust representatives, however, told Ziarul Financiar they had no plans for a merger with SSIF Broker. “SSIF Broker has contacted us. The talks have just begun. However, we are not interested in a merger with Broker,” explained George Ciobanu, Invest Trust manager. This company ranks number 57 among brokers on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in terms of trades with 23.7bn ROL (0.6 million euros), which represents a market share of only 0.15%. ZF