Erste eyes debt collector

Erste Bank, the Austrian bank that is currently a finalist for the acquisition of the largest bank of Romania, is in talks over the takeover of the controlling interests in Urban & Asociatii, a debt collection company, financial market sources say. The talks focus on the Austrians taking control through a capital contribution, so that the current owners of Urban & Asociatii will become minority shareholders, according to the quoted sources. They add that if Erste Bank takes over Banca Comerciala Romana, the two parties will meet again in January next year to sign a contract in this regard. Urban & Asociatii is a family business run by brothers Iulian and Viorel Urban, which started debt collection operations in 1997. Until that moment the company had been providing legal advice and representation services. The quoted sources also say the Austrian bank has expressed its intent to build an office building in northern Bucharest, where Urban & Asociatii is supposed to use about 3,000 square metres for offices and corporate activities. Erste Bank officials had not commented on this information by the time the story was ready for print. ZF