Banca Transilvania, which recently acquired the Romanian branch of the Hungarian OTP Bank, did not apply to the NBM for authorization to purchase the branch of OTP Bank in Moldova - Anca Dragu.
Governor of the National Bank of Moldova said this in an interview with Agerpres. She was asked to comment on the rumors that Banca Transilvania is interested in acquiring the branch of OTP Bank in Moldova and was asked whether there was a request in this regard from Banca Transilvania. "There is no official discussion in this sense, but it is true that Banca Transilvania is already an important player on the banking market and we would be happy to see a more significant presence of Banca Transilvania in Moldova, because it has good practices, quality shareholders, and the financial market should grow under quality shareholders, management rules, and I hope we can achieve this," the National Bank Governor said. According to her, in any case, at the moment the Moldovan banking sector is well capitalized, it is a solid banking sector, 93% of shareholders are residents of Western Europe, shareholders who adhere to some rules, know what all European directives and norms mean. "Therefore, openness to the European Union and Romania is something we are working on and expect," the NBM Head said. While asked whether there were any signals on behalf of other commercial banks from Romania interested in investing in Moldova's banking market, Anca Dragu said that there have been no direct discussions, but she knows that there is interest and that Moldova, together with the EU's decision to start accession talks, has already come to the attention of many investors. She pointed out that all the European states that did not have embassies in Chisinau are opening them now: three European countries opened them in January. Banca Transilvania from Romania and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are the largest shareholders of Victoriabank through the Dutch company VB Investment Holding BV, which owns 72.19% of the Moldovan bank's shares. In January this year Victoriabank also acquired a 100% stake in BCR Chişinău. The owner of OTP Bank in Moldova is Hungarian OTP Bank Nyrt, which owns 98.26% of the bank's shares. OTP Group is one of the fastest growing banking groups and one of the leaders in Central and Eastern Europe, with outstanding profitability and a stable capital and liquidity position. // 21.03.2024 - InfoMarket
