Societe Generale reportedly prepares exit from Romania's pension funds market

BRD Pensii, the pension fund management division of BRD-SocGen group, is evaluating several exit scenarios, including the sale to another fund manager or a possible transfer of the activity to the group's life insurance division, according to sources familiar with the developments quoted by Ziarul Financiar.

The funds' poor performance and the frauds investigated by prosecutors would be at the root of the decision, Economica.net said.

BRD Pensii "refused to comment on rumours," but at the same time, it has publicly announced that as of October 1, no new contributor has been accepted.

BRD Pensii manages the mandatory private pension fund with the weakest performance measured by the net asset unit value (VUAN) since its launch in 2008.

The move comes after the government drafted new regulations for pension fund managers, including smaller fees and stricter investment limitations.

In the summer of 2022, the police and prosecutors said that a fraud of RON 23 mln was discovered at BRD Pensii, and they detained several people, including the CEO at that time, Alina Andreescu. According to ZF, this is one of the reasons for BRD's plans to exit the market.

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