Victoriabank acquires BCR Chișinău, a branch of Banca Comercială Română, part of the Erste Group (Austria).
According to BCR Chișinău, in particular, Banca Comercială Română and Victoriabank, one of the largest banks in Moldova, agreed on the full sale of the shares of BCR Chisinau owned by Banca Comercială Română. Victoriabank is the third largest bank in Moldova in terms of assets, it has almost 300 thousand active clients and 70 offices all over the country. Completion of the transaction is expected in the second half of this year and is subject to several preconditions, including approvals from the National Bank of Moldova, the National Bank of Romania, the European Central Bank, the Competition Council of Moldova and the National Financial Market Commission of Moldova. BCR Chișinău and Victoriabank will operate independently until approvals are obtained, after which BCR Chișinău will be integrated into Victoriabank. BCR Chișinău has more than 13,000 active clients, 110 employees and 4 subdivisions, 2 in Chisinau and 1 each in Cahul and Balti respectively. "For BCR this decision is related to the strategy of focusing exclusively on business development in Romania, while for all stakeholders - colleagues, clients and partners - the takeover of BCR Chișinău by Victoriabank represents the opening of a new ecosystem of partnerships and commercial synergies. In the near future, our priority together with our partners is to ensure the easiest transition for clients and colleagues," said Banca Comercială Română CEO and BCR Chișinău Supervisory Board Chairman Sergiu Manea. For his part, Bogdan Plesuvescu, who served as Chairman of the Board of Victoriabank from 2018-2022, said that Victoriabank has gone through an extensive transformation process over the last 5 years in terms of corporate governance model and business model. According to him, the acquisition of BCR Chișinău confirms Victoriabank's mission to strengthen its position in the banking market and its commitment to support the Moldovan economy. He drew attention to the fact that Victoriabank and BCR Chișinău have a similar business model with products and services for individuals and legal entities. "We highly appreciate the achievements of BCR Chișinău and the high loyalty of its clients," said Victoriabank Board Chairman Levon Khanikyan. // 30.03.2023 – InfoMarket
