There have been talks but they (Garanti) will not do anything until next year, a banking source told ZF. The talks between the two parties could be easier considering Banca Transilvania’s chief executive is Omer Tetik, a Turkish national.
Garanti Bank is held by one of the biggest financial groups in Turkey, whose main shareholder is Spain’s BBVA, one of the leading European banks. BBVA has been reviewing Garanti’s banking operations for a while now, which are not as big as the Spanish shareholder would like them to be. To matter on a market it operates on, BBVA seeks to reach one of the top three spots and Garanti Bank Romania does not meet this requirement.
Garanti Bank Romania had 8.9 billion lei (EUR1.9 billion) assets at the end of 2016, down from 2015, when its assets stood at RON9.5 billion and its market share was 2.5%.
Banca Transilvania is in the process of acquiring the ninth leading bank on the market, Bancpost, whose market share is 2.9%. After having successfully bought Volksbank’s Romanian operations (2015-2016), which helped it climb to the second position on the market, with 13% market share, Banca Transilvania wants to buy more banks to be able to aim for the top spot.
Banca Transilvania’s market capitalization is RON9.7 billion, so it has enough financial resources to buy other banks.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)