Erste starts to sell gold from Austrian Mint via retail program at its BCR bank outlets in Romania

Romanian lender BCR, owned by Austrian Erste Bank, has started selling gold coins and bars to individuals directly from its bank units, without the need to pre-order. BCR will sell 24-karat gold from the Austrian Mint, and hopes to sell 400 kilos of this gold via direct sales in the first year. This year, BCR sold 350 kilos of gold, mainly to wealthy clients or to private banking customers, who had to pre-order. The bank will sell 3.1 grams coins, which costs RON 541 – or some EUR 120 – which is the cheapest coin option on sale. The largest and most expensive is of 31 grams, and costs some RON 4,600 – or some EUR 1,022. The smallest gold bar is 2 grams only, and costs RON 368 – or some EUR 81- while the heaviest is of 1 kilo and costs RON 143,000 – or some EUR 31,700. BCR hopes the new gold retail sale to attract Romanians who either want to invest in something, or simply offer a valuable gift, ahead of the Christmas period. BCR – or Banca Comerciala Romana – is the largest lender in Romania assets wise. The bank posted a net profit of EUR 127 million in the first nine months of 2013, bouncing back after a loss of EUR 172 million in the first three quarters of 2012. BCR maintained leading market share by assets, despite a decline in total assets by 7 percent to the equivalent of EUR 15.2 billion. editor@romania-insider.com