Erste's funds try to narrow exposure to Greek banks

BCR Monetar and BCR Obligatiuni mutual funds, managed by Erste Asset Management investment manager, had over 420m RON (100m euros) placed in deposits opened with Greek banks at the end of last year, with the exposure amounting to around 30% of total assets that stood at 1.44bn RON (351m euros). “Since December, we’ve cut the funds’ exposure to Greek banks. BCR Monetar and BCR Obligatiuni portfolios have been revised and we’ve currently expanded relationships toward other banks,” said Dragos Neacsu, chairman of Erste Asset Management, part of Austria’s Erste group. The company is the biggest mutual fund manager, with assets worth around 2bn RON under management. BCR Monetar is the biggest fund on the market, with assets worth almost 300m euros at present, and has boasted the biggest return in the past year among monetary funds, of 13.8%. BCR Obligatiuni is the biggest bond fund on the market and has had a 13.5% yield in the past 12 months. Piraeus Bank has attracted the biggest placements from the two funds, namely 169m RON.