Austria’s Erste Group Bank AG (EBS.RO), BCR’s majority stockholder, Wednesday recommended increasing the bank’s share capital by 644 million lei (about EUR150 million) to RON1.7 billion.
The proposal is subject to shareholder approval at a BCR meeting due November 14.
“We agree in principle, but we have to see the documents for the shareholders’ meeting. However, when Trichet (European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet) says that banks need more capitalization, what can we say?” Tudor Ciurezu, head of SIF Oltenia (SIF5.RO) told Mediafax.
Costel Ceocea, president of SIF Moldova (SIF2.RO), said in turn that the capital increase at BCR would be a natural response to the worsening economic environment and that reflects the central bank’s image of a consolidated local banking system.
However, SIF Moldova’s vote in the November 14 meeting is not yet decided, Ceocea said.
Representatives of SIF Banat-Crisana (SIF1.RO) and SIF Transilvania (SIF3.RO) were not immediately available for comment when contacted by Mediafax, while the head of SIF Muntenia’s (SIF4.RO) manager SAI Muntenia Invest declined to comment on the capital increase.
(English version by Florentina Dragu)