RBS sells corporate portfolio to UniCredit Tiriac Bank, will exit Romania

Romanian financial group UniCredit Tiriac Bank signed an agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland to take over the corporate business division of RBS Romania, the two groups announced on Tuesday, August 5. Following the agreement, UniCredit will take a total portfolio of aggregate assets of around EUR 260 million and corporate deposits of EUR 315 million. RBS Romania's client portfolio consists of over 500 middle size and large private companies, local and international, as well as public and financial institutions. UniCredit Tiriac Bank will also take over RBS Romania’s staff. This transaction comes one year after UniCredit Tiriac Bank took over RBS Romania’s retail portfolio. After this transaction will be finalized, RBS will exit the Romanian market. The transaction will be finalized after all approvals by Romania’s Competition Council, with transfer foreseen in the coming months. The two banks haven’t disclosed the financial terms and the conditions of the transaction. “This new portfolio acquisition represents another natural step for us, as UniCredit – leading European banking group – is committed to sustainable growth on the Romanian market. After the acquisition of the retail and royal preferred banking business from RBS Romania last year, the full integration of the corporate portfolio is a very suitable choice,” said Razvan Radu, CEO of UniCredit Tiriac Bank. “Corporate represents a core business for us and this development perfectly fits our strategy in the medium and long-term, while at the same time consolidating our leading position in the market”, he added. The two groups said there will be no change to the clients’ contractual conditions and to the technical details of their respective products and services. Romanian law firm Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii assisted UniCredit Tiriac Bank in the deal. UniCredit Tiriac Bank was the fourth largest bank in Romania by assets at the end of 2013, with total assets of EUR 6.21 billion. The bank had a market share of 7.6% end-December 2013, 2.1 percentage points higher than at the end of 2008. UniCredit Tiriac Bank’s majority shareholder is Italian UniCredit Group, via its Austrian subsidiary, with 51% of the shares. Two investment vehicles controlled by Romanian businessman Ion Tiriac own 45% of the bank and 5% of the shares are owned by minority shareholders of the former Banca Ion Tiriac. Recently, the Italian media wrote that UniCredit is negotiating to buy Tiriac’s stake in the bank. RBS entered the Romanian market in 2007, after taking over Dutch group ABN Amro, which had been present in Romania since 1995. Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com