“The network is not very extensive and this is why our plan is to further develop the bank toward niche services. We are targeting significant presence in the less bancarized, rural area,” Manda told ZF in an interview.
According to data provided by Manda, Nextebank has exited the crisis as one of the smallest banks in the system, with assets of less than EUR200 million, a 20-unit network and around 270 employees.
Manda chose not to disclose further information about the projects he holds in store for Nextebank, only specifying that the business plan is underway and that “there are several options as regards the bank development and others relating to the operations we carried out through Patria Credit”.
Patria Credit is a micro-funding company controlled by the Romanian-American Enterprise Fund (RAEF) and the Balkan Accession Fund (BAF), two of the funds managed by Axxess Capital, which also oversees the Emerging Europe Accession Fund (EEAF).
In 2009, Patria Credit requested a banking license, but the project has not been approved by the Romanian central bank.
Now, Manda is “moderately upbeat” on getting the greenlight from the central bank, with this likely to come in three-four months.
About the two financial entities in the portfolio, Manda added that “there is also the possibility of keeping the two units separately, but this does not necessarily mean we will do so”.
Manda knows the financial sector very well, with Nextebank as the fourth investment operated by the funds he represents in this field.
“I invested in the banking sector for the first time back in 1998. At that time, Romania was on the brink of an external debt default. The private sector was then a fledgling one, with the state having a majority presence. Now, the situation is completely different”, says Manda.
The only similarity Manda can find between the banking system of that time and the current one is the “tight access to lending’.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)