Biggest fund managers keep 140m euros in Greek banks

Investment management companies Erste Asset Management and Raiffeisen Asset Management, the two biggest fund managers on the Romanian market, with over 3 billion RON in overall assets under management, had around 580 million RON (140 million euros) in deposits opened with Greek banks at the end of last year.

The two managers' 580 million-RON exposure to Greek banks accounts for 17% of overall assets of the Romanian mutual fund market.

Mutual funds BCR Monetar and BCR Obligatiuni, managed by Erste Asset Management, had over 420 million RON (100 million euros) in deposits opened with Piraeus, Alpha Bank, and Banca Romaneasca, controlled by the National Bank of Greece, while mutual funds managed by Raiffeisen Asset Management had around 160 million RON (40 million euros) in deposits opened with Banca Romaneasca according to annual management reports. Raiffeisen Monetar fund, which generated a yield of 14.7% in 2009, had the biggest amounts in deposits opened with Banca Romaneasca, 100 million RON at the end of last year. Last year Greek banks offered some of the market's biggest interests on deposits, and monetary funds with significant assets were able to negotiate interests of up to 15-18% over certain periods of time.