“Even if this happens, I don’t expect it to have a major impact in Romania, because the subsidiaries of Greek banks are subject to local laws and are somewhat protected by the regulatory authority,” the head of UniCredit’s CEE division, Gianni Franco Papa, told Mediafax.
Papa said spillover effects in the CEE region would be limited.
The Romanian subsidiaries of Greek banks have combined assets equal to around 17% of the overall local assets.
Political turmoil in Greece escalated earlier this week after local parties were unable to form a new government following early elections May 6, which triggered preparations for a new round of elections. The situation had markets spooked that the Hellenic nation might not move forward with austere measures and sparked speculation of a departure from the eurozone.
The European Commission and the European Central Bank are working on an emergency scenario in case Greece has to leave the currency bloc, EU trade commission Karel De Gucht said earlier Friday.
Greece’s potential exit from the eurozone could hinder commercial relationships between the Hellenic country and Romania, UniCredit’s official said.
“There might be some difficulties concerning trade exchanges between the two countries, but UniCredit’s strategy for Romania will not change,” Papa said.