Potential buyer for BTR

One of the most important Turkish banks, Turk Dis Ticaret Bankasi (Turkish Bank for Foreign Trade), is currently in talks with Turkish officials for taking over Banca Turco-Romana (BTR – Romanian-Turkish Bank), negotiations having already reached an advanced stage, banking sources told Ziarul Financiar. However, the list containing the names of potential investors also includes Greek institutions.

“Many banks with Turkish capital have displayed interest in BTR, as they already wanted to enter the Romanian market and they regarded this transaction as an opportunity.

The most mentioned name is currently that of Turk Dis Ticaret Bankasi, which had submitted several offers to BTR majority shareholder, Turkish group Bayindir, even before the BTR crisis occurred,” the above-quoted sources told Ziarul Financiar.

Mugur atet, National Bank of Romania spokesperson, declined to comment this possible transaction, stating that “NBR representatives continue negotiations with Turkish authorities in order to find solutions to the BTR problem.”

BTR continues to make payments based on previous appointments, which sometimes reach one month. Even though BTR is not officially supervised by NBR, it is actually monitored by the National Bank of Romania.

Turk Dis Ticaret Bankasi, which used to be called Amerikan-Turk Dis Ticaret Bankasi before April 1971, was established in 1964, as a joint venture between Is Bankasi, one of the largest Turkish banks, and Bank of America.

At present, the bank’s main shareholders are Dogan group, with 53%, and Is Bankasi, with 16.62%, while over 10 % of shares are traded on the Istanbul stock exchange.

In 1999, total assets of Turk Dis Ticaret Bankasi stood at 2.08 billion dollars, while own capital amounted to 264 million dollars.