EximBank completes the merger with Banca Romaneasca and becomes a universal bank
Bucharest, December 30th, 2022 – EximBank enters the attractive retail market in Romania from December 31st, 2022, becoming a universal full-service bank, taking over the mission to support the growth of prosperity in Romania, and to build sustainable partnerships for the social well-being and economic performance of its customers, by accelerating financial intermediation.
“After completing all the steps provided by the specific legislation and banking regulations, the merger by absorption process between EximBank, as an acquiring company, and Banca Romaneasca, as an absorbed company, obtained this month the prior approval of the National Bank of Romania, which allowed the registration of the merger with the National Trade Register Office. In these circumstances, from December 31st 2022 – the effective date of the merger according to the draft terms of the merger – the two banks will function as a single entity, under the name of EximBank. It is a moment of major importance both for EximBank – which becomes a top Romanian universal bank by adding to its portfolio products for individuals, as well as for the local banking system – by increasing the presence of Romanian capital on the financial and banking market, especially in the current context.
We believed from the very beginning in the extraordinary potential of this project, and its successful completion shows once more our firm commitment to continue to support the growth of the Romanian economy through the financial support we will provide to all market segments, whether we are talking about individuals or companies,” said Traian Halalai, executive president of EximBank.
During the merger process, EximBank was assisted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers Management Consultants SRL.
Following successive rounds of negotiations, EximBank and The National Bank of Greece (NBG) signed, on June 20th, 2019, the contract for the acquisition of the majority stake of Banca Romaneasca, and, in December 2019, the transaction received the non-objection notices from the Competition Council and the National Bank of Romania, the relevant regulatory authorities for this transaction. With the fulfillment of the mandatory regulatory requirements and the other elements stipulated in the agreement that EximBank and the National Bank of Greece signed, in January 2020, all the conditions for the conclusion of the transaction were met.
The price paid by EximBank for BROM was almost of 60 million euros, at an acquired capital of about 130 million euros. In addition to the price paid for the capital, the total transaction included the repayment of the subordinated loan granted to Banca Romaneasca by NBG, amounting to EUR 65 million, and the repayment, by BROM, of the intragroup financing received from the parent bank, amounting to EUR 90 million, paid by Banca Romaneasca from its own liquidity. The transaction did not involve any funding from the state budget.
Regardless of the specific components of a universal bank, after the merger, EximBank will continue to act on the state guarantees and insurance segment, according to the mandate received from the Romanian state.
EximBank was founded in 1992 and has as majority shareholder the Romanian state, through the Ministry of Finance. In the last ten years, the bank has performed in an accelerated manner so that, in addition to entering the Top 10 largest banks by assets in Romania, EximBank is today one of the most valuable Romanian companies and a systemically important institution.