Romania's financial companies plunge 5.5% in January, on year-low capitalization

The net assets of Romania's five financial companies known as SIFs lost on average 5.5 percent in January to 5.496 billion lei (1.28 billion euros), which brought their capitalization to the lowest level of the past 12 months, data of the Association of Fund Administrators (AAF) show.

The market value of the financial sector fell on average to 1.715 billion lei in January after the downward evolution of stocks on the bourse slashed between 14 percent and 26.5 percent of the share prices.

Assets of SIF Muntenia dropped to 1.334 billion lei, 3.94 percent less than at the end of last year, when it stood at 1.389 billion lei. SIF Transilvania also saw its assets decline 4.78 percent to 1.271 billion lei from 1.335 billion lei in December 2008, while the net assets of SIF Moldova dipped 3.5 percent in the similar period to 924.42 million lei. 

SIF Oltenia and SIF Banat-Crisana recorded the steepest fall in assets. SIF Oltenia plunged 7.32 percent percent to 1.045 billion lei after ending last year at 1.128 billion lei, while SIF Banat-Crisana crashed 9 percent to 920.33 million lei from 1.01 billion lei.

Shares traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) at the end of January accounted for a 56.2 percent chunk of the financial companies' assets and were valuated at 3.3 billion lei, down from 3.6 billion lei at the end of last year.

NewsIn