BUCHAREST, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Romanian-American Enterprise Fund, a private
investment fund, said on Thursday it had agreed to sell 81.6 percent in small
Romanian private bank Banca Romaneasca to National Bank of Greece.
"We agreed to sell 81.6 percent to National Bank," Horia Manda, senior vice
president of the fund, told Reuters. "We are waiting for authorisation from the
Romanian and Greek central banks and from Romanian competition authorities to
close the transaction."
Manda did not disclose the financial details of the deal but said other
investors, such as Hungary's OTP, had expressed interest in the bank, which has
around 25 branches across the country.
"It is an interesting target for banks who want to get market share in the
country," Manda said. He said the needed authorisations might be obtained in two
or three weeks.
Banca Romaneasca posted a pre-tax profit of 96 billion lei ($2.9 million) in the
first six months of this year, up around four percent from the first half of
2002.
09/25/03 03:54 ET
Towards the e-Commerce Revolution In Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe Impact for the IT and Financial Services Sectors in the Region
2-3 June 2003, Hotel Intercontinental, Vienna
Introduction
A unique and timely opportunity presents itself in Vienna to face or re-assess
the strategic decisions which are now becoming urgent in managing the emergence
of e-finance in the Region.
Never before has IT played a more critical role in the operations and strategies
of companies. Management has recognised that technology can help significantly
to improve how financial institutions attract and manage their assets.
New generation solutions will further strengthen relationships between
management and technology.
This Conference is aimed at giving you a better understanding of what e-commerce
is available to you and how it can help improve your businesses. Learn how to
take full advantage of this medium, to achieve the most important objectives you
have today: improving efficiency, increasing revenues and managing costs.
The internet is re-defining the foundation of the banking industry in CEE and
SEE. Simply deploying the e-commerce as a more efficient distribution channel
will not bring sustainable strategic advantages. This Conference explores a
series of emerging issues, such as the adoption of various strategies and
business models, channel development and co-ordination, and product and service
offering via
e-commerce.
As a new distribution channel for financial services, e-commerce has lowered
barriers to entry, allowing new players, often equipped with new technologies
and business models, to enter the market. These new players are posing a serious
threat to existing banks by changing the rules of competition and raising the
general expectation of customers for services from a wider range of financial
companies.
Established banks and other financial institutions in the Region must radically
overhaul their business strategies to maintain their competitive position and to
survive in the long-term.
We therefore look forward to your participation and would ask you to pass the
programme to the most relevant persons within your organisation, should you
personally not be the appropriate person or should you be unavailable at that
time. This would ensure that your Institution is a step ahead of the game.
We look forward to welcoming you in Vienna. Click here
for an online registration form.
Financing Enlargement By adopting the report by Elmar Brok (PPE-D) and Terry Wynn (PSE-UK) by a
wide majority, EU MP's have shown their discontent with the fact that the
financing of enlargement has been predetermined - until 2006 and in the case of
agricultural expenses until 2013 - by annex XV of the future membership treaty
that is to be signed on 16th April. This report asks the Council to withdraw or
modify annex XV. Parliament would like to maintain a certain amount of freedom
in the establishment of the financing of the enlargement.
Greece's National Bank to
expand in Romania
ATHENS, Mar 7 (Reuters) - Greece's largest bank, National Bank, said on Friday
it would expand its presence in Romania as part of a plan to become a leading
player in southeastern Europe.
National Bank, which operates one branch in central Bucharest since 1997, said
it would set up 15 new branches in the country's main cities.
The network will offer a wide range of products and services with emphasis on
retail banking -- home, consumer and personal loans along with credit cards.
Last month, National Bank said the group was in talks to acquire a stake in
Romaneasca Banka, which has a network of 26 branches.
National Bank, with a current market value of 2.44 billion euros ($2.69
billion), owns 69.2 percent of Stopanska Banca, the largest bank in the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Other Greek banks with a presence in Romania, which is expected to join the
European Union in 2007, include Alpha Bank , Piraeus Bank and EFG Eurobank,
which owns a large stake in the country's sixth largest bank Banc Post.
03/07/03 06:48 ET
Commission moves to prepare extension of FIN-NET financial services complaints
network to future Member States
On February 1, 2001 the Commission announced the launch of an
out-of-court complaints network for financial services. FIN-NET is based on the
co-operation between national dispute settlement bodies and is the first fully
functioning cross-border alternative dispute resolution (ADR) network in the
European Union. As such, it plays a key role in the Commission's drive to
develop a true Internal Market in retail financial services. The network will
bring a number of national existing out-of-court dispute resolution systems on
the basis of a voluntary Memorandum of Understanding.
On September 2, 2002 the European Commission published a new
consumers' guide to FIN-NET.
The new Guide, part of the Dialogue with Citizens initiative
to raise people's awareness of their rights within the Internal Market, aims to
help European citizens to understand and use the FIN-NET network. The guide is
available in all eleven official EU-languages and a half million copies will be
distributed.
The Guide gives consumers information about:
What to do if they have a complaint against a financial services provider
in another Member State;
Procedures for settling consumer financial services disputes out of court
in the European Economic Area (the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and
Liechtenstein);
How FIN-NET works;
How to contact the national complaint schemes participating in FIN-NET.
