Wimmer officially becomes number two at BCR

NBR (National Bank of Romania) has officially confirmed that Manfred Wimmer (photo), the former manager in charge of strategy at Erste Bank, has been appointed to the position of executive vice-president at BCR (Romanian Commercial Bank), in charge of coordinating the integration process within the Austrian group. Wimmer (age 51) is the new number two at the largest bank on the market. He is overseeing the integration programme, which is scheduled to end in the middle of next year, with many of the programme’s 42 projects nearing completion, especially those concerning the reorganisation and centralisation of functions. The BCR’s General Meeting of Shareholders appointed Wimmer to the position as far back as April, when he became a member of the Executive Board, alongside Nicolae Danila (executive president), Jean Andronie, (executive vice-president – in charge of corporate banking), Oana Petrescu (executive vice-president – in charge of operations), Martin ?kopek (executive vice-president – head of retail & private banking), and Helmuth Hintringer, (vice-president, head of the finance and risk department). Wimmer was going to be the seventh member of the Board, in accordance with legislation concerning trading companies that requires an uneven number of Board members. In the meantime, however, Dan Bunea, the former vice-president of the BCR, resigned. Banking sources say the Austrians have hired headhunters to find a successor, with Danila, Petrescu and Hintringer sharing Bunea’s responsibilities for the time being.