SIFs reward employees with record bonuses from 2009 profit

Four SIFs (financial investment companies) granted cumulated bonuses of 25.6 million RON (6 million euros) to their employees for profits made in 2009, despite complaining at the beginning of the year that they did not have the money to increase the dividends due to shareholders.

The SIFs significantly boosted salary spending this year because of the bonuses granted to employees corresponding to last year's record profits. SIF profits fell significantly in the first nine months of this year, which the heads of the SIFs blame on the difficult market conditions.
Actually, last year's profits, however, largely had to do with the record-high dividends distributed by BCR and BRD from the profits for 2008 (the best year for the banking system) and with the sale of Bancpost stakes to the Greek at EFG. This year, the first without dividends from the BCR, the SIFs had to look for other sources of profit, which only SIF Moldova and SIF Oltenia managed to do because they were more active on the Stock Exchange.