Citi: Banking market will continue to attract foreign investors

We feel very strongly that Romania and in general the South-Eastern area of Europe offers excellent short and medium term opportunities for financial and banking investors, says Kevin Murray, Chief Operating Officer of the Markets and Banking division for Central Europe, the Middle East and Asia, of Citi (Citigroup). He believes European and American players will continue to be interested in creating businesses from scratch or buying already operational financial institutions. “There is still room for improvement; however, the current conditions continue to be favourable for foreign direct investments,” adds Murray. Concerning Citi’s Romanian activities, he states that expansion opportunities will be examined “at the right time and at the right prices.” Given that many foreign players are showing an interest in Romania after EU integration, Citi believes a new rise in acquisitions and mergers will take place, with small banks being purchased or absorbed. “In the meantime, in the short term Romania continues to be an underbanked market, which means that an increase in financial brokerage operations will bring a significant decline in margins, as the competition and the modern technology will drive down the prices of financial services,” adds Murray.