RBS Bank will exit the Romanian market in the second half of the year

Following losses worth tens of billions of euro, the RBS group decided to forego its operations on 15 markets, including Romania, and will focus on major financial centers worldwide.

"My best guess is that the exit will take place in the second half of the year. We would like to act as soon as possible. For a bank that indeed has a long-term strategy and long-term ambitions for Romania, and for the region in general, an entry through us or an expansion through us makes absolute sense. It is very unlikely that somebody who does not have Romania as a long-term strategy would consider an operation like ours, especially in the current circumstances," Weiss added. 

Erste Bank and Societe Generale, the shareholders of the top two players in the local banking system in terms of assets and profit, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), and BRD - Groupe Societe Generale, have already announced they are not interested in expanding their business by acquiring the Romanian subsidiary of RBS. 

Weiss said that, due to the crisis and the lack of any deal at regional level in recent times, it is difficult to estimate the price of the transaction on the financial market, but it will surely be lower than in 2005-2006.

"It is a very mixed bag of countries, from New Zealand, to Venezuela, Portugal, Slovakia, there is not one buyer for that package. The person interested in Romania will not necessarily be interested in New Zealand or Chile," Weiss added.

RBS Bank Romania, considered by Mugur Isarescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), to be one of the most solid banks in the local banking system, ranked 12th on the local market in terms of assets in 2007. It has a balanced loan-deposit ratio, of 75 percent.
 
Business Standard