State eager to cash in on BCR

The actual deal by which EBRD and IFC get 25% in the largest Romanian bank, Banca Comerciala Romana (Romanian Commercial Bank – BCR), i.e. the transfer of the $222 million payment under the buy-sell contract, will be most likely concluded by the end of the month, sources close to the deal say. This is because at the end of last week, EBRD and IFC representatives, on the one hand, and Privatisation Authority (APAPS) and BCR representatives on the other, agreed on two of the “heavy” documents outlining BCR’s further development, the Structuring Plan and the Shareholder Agreement. “One of the steps taken at the request of EBRD and IFC targets creating a payment committee, a totally independent structure set to assess and monitor BCR Group’s wage policy. This payment committee will comprise four members, none of which are part of the Group,” the quoted sources said. ZF