The RoBank name will be changed by the new owner OTP Bank in a matter of months, so as to show the fact that the Romanian bank is now part of the Hungarian financial group, Anthony Fekete, RoBank's president told Ziarul Financiar.
New headquarters, a substantially expanded branch network, two retail products, a revamped corporate client department and a strong sales force are the main goals OTP Bank plans to achieve in Romania over the next 12 months.
Two of the key segments, the retail operations and the risk management department will be supervised by bankers brought from Budapest especially for this purpose. Besides the recent capital increase by 10 million euros, the parent bank will grant the Romanian branch lines of credit to refinance the medium-term products it will include in its offer. "OTP is ready to back us with further capital increases so as to be able to cope with the high costs entailed by building a strong network of branches and especially by the IT infrastructure," Anthony Fekete stated.
He says OTP maintains its strong interest on the Romanian insurance market. "There are no new concrete developments in this regard, though I can say we are very closely looking into opportunities," Fekete says. A similar interest materialised after the acquisition of banks in Slovakia and Bulgaria, considering OTP tends to duplicate its financial group structure as in Hungary on the new markets.
Under the circumstances, the RoBank chairman says leasing is on the priority list for new operations. At the same time, the bank is working on a new savings product. Credit cards, on the other hand, will not arrive too soon, considering how complex the process is.
"The bank will completely change its size. RoBank used to be a small player, without significant growth opportunities, but had a clean portfolio and flexible staff," the new president says.
razvan.voican@zf.ro
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