Andreas Treichl, chief executive officer of Erste Group, decided on another expat to take over the reins of BCR, but only a few people know who that person is for the time being.
Market sources suggest a Czech executive is being groomed for the top position at BCR. This means Martin Skopek, whose return to Romania as vice-president of retail had already been announced for the end of March, might have actually been prepared to be Bruynseels’ replacement once the talks over conclusion of the latter’s term are finalized, which might last until summer.
The Austrian owners of BCR first tried to find a Romanian banker to take over as they did in 2008, but even though they put together a short list they did not find a suitable candidate. Rumors about the departure of Bruynseels have been circulating on the market for several months now. The only official announcement from Erste officials was the extension by two and a half years of the term of Wolfgang Schoiswohl as corporate and treasury vice-president.
Erste has just added EUR100 million to BCR’s capital given the third quarter losses and Treichl is trying to breathe new life into the bank affected by the prolonged recession. The Austrian banker who paid EUR3.75 billion to buy BCR has been under scrutiny from investors, market supervisors and Austrian politicians after Erste announced almost EUR1 billion in nine-month losses.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)