The bank reported a profit of 6.7 million lei (EUR1.5 million) in the first three months of 2012 after it lost over RON75 million in the last two years because of non-performing loans. Leumi had 330 employees left at the end of March and a network of 23 branches and agencies.
“Our restructuring is starting to bear fruit. We paid the price of taking over an organization with a different culture but prospects are much better after the restructuring, and the Leumi group is not considering leaving Romania,” Laurentiu Mitrache, president of the bank, told ZF in an interview.
Leumi entered the Romanian market in the summer of 2006, when it paid $46 million for 99% of Eurom Bank, controlled by Kolal investment fund.
The bank ranked 29th in the banking system at the end of last year, with a 0.32% market share, having remained a discreet presence with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
“It is not our plan to become a top-ranking bank. We have our niche, small and medium-sized enterprises, with around 65% of our portfolio being accounted for by loans granted to this client segment,” Mitrache says.
Leumi had a volume of loans of around RON900 million (around EUR205 million) at the end of last year and wants to reach RON1.1 billion in December 2012.
Israeli companies with business in Romania are one of the targets of the bank, which has a specialized department for such clients.
“We don’t grant incentives to Israeli companies, but we have created a specialized department where Hebrew is spoken and where the group’s strategy is applied. This is a differentiation strategy,” Mitrache says.
He says considering the first-quarter results, the bank could exceed its targets this year, which provide for a 10% rise in financing granted. (EUR1=RON4.3778)
(English version by Daniela Stoican)