Two new shareholders for Volksbank

Two Italian banks recently became shareholders in Volksbank Romania: Emro Popolare and Banca Popolare di Vicenza both acquired 6.6676% in the Romanian institution from Volksbank International Austria in June and July. "The Italian banks are strategic partners of our group, as they own stakes in other Volksbank subsidiaries. Furthermore, Romania has a special potential as far as Italian investors are concerned, which is verified by the large number of Italian companies in this market. Thus the two Italian banks already have a partner in Volksbank Romania for their clients from Italy that want to invest in our country," said the Volksbank marketing manager for Romania, Alin Merer. Volksbank International Austria currently controls 93.298% of its Romanian subsidiary. The two Italian banks own 3.3338% stakes each. The other shareholders are Unternehmsbeteiligungs, VB Unternehmsholding, VB Investmentbank AG and VB Factoring Bank, each of which has less than 1%. ZF