The banking sector is beginning to consider mutual funds more seriously as a way of attracting people''s savings amid the improving health of the funds market seen in recent years.
Over the last 25 years Western Europe has witnessed a gradual process of migration in terms of people''s savings from traditional banking deposits to investment funds.
Raiffeisen Bank, the third leading bank in the system, is planning to launch mutual funds by the end of this year, while three other banks - HVB, Banca Transilvania and Finansbank - have already announced similar moves.
Raiffeisen recently ended the distribution contracts it held with two independent managers, Certinvest and SIRA. "We estimate we will be able to offer mutual fund-like instruments by the end of the year," Raiffeisen representatives told Ziarul Financiar. They chose not to comment on the termination of their cooperation with the two management companies.
HVB Bank, Banca Transilvania and Finansbank have already established their own mutual fund management companies, but are yet to launch any products.
Banca Transilvania currently has distribution contracts with two fund managers - Certinvest and Globinvest - and has made no decision in terms of any possible discontinuation of their cooperation with them. "We have not considered granting the bank''s management company exclusivity until now," said Radu Hanga, head of the capital market department with Banca Transilvania.
The leading two players in the banking system - BCR and BRD-SocGen - already manage mutual funds through specialised companies and have gained large market shares over the last two years, eroding that of independent managers. The funds of the two banks have benefited from the powerful distribution networks operated by the banks, which besides territorial presence, affords them better visibility with potential investors.
Investor confidence in mutual fund investments is starting to recover after the scandals related to the FMOA-SAFI and FNI crashes, which were the biggest mutual funds in their time. Although current amounts placed with mutual funds are insignificant in comparison with banking deposits, the funds market is nonetheless believed to be growing fast.
The population''s deposits in the banking system, in ROL and foreign currency, currently amount to 6.5bn euros, while the assets of mutual funds amount to 77 million euros. On the other hand, the assets of mutual funds have nearly doubled in the last two months, while banking deposits grew by 41% in ROL and only 6% in foreign currency.
"The Romanian funds industry is very small compared with the potential of the market. This is why we expect new operators to emerge, both bank-controlled and independent," said Dan Nicu, chairman of the National Union of Collective Placement Institutions (UNOPC).
Recent years have seen fund managers also forced to compete with insurance companies, which offer savings products and, as with banks, have better distribution networks and higher advertising budgets.
vlad.nicolaescu@zf.ro
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
