The value of the largest bank listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BRD-SocGen has reached 3.3 billion euros, with the 58% stake held by the French at Societe Generale thus exceeding 1.9 billion euros.
This figure almost entirely represents profit for the French, given that they have already recovered the larger part of their investments.
BRD''s example proves once more that the state gained almost nothing from the privatisation of the bank, a rule that stands for every single bank that was once held by the state, even though the Austrians at Erste will be paying 3.75 billion euros for the controlling interests in BCR, an amount most analysts deem as quite high compared with the actual value of the bank.
BRD paid 200 million dollars (the equivalent of 180 million ECUs back then, the precursor of the euro) at the end of 1998, for a 51% stake in Banca Romana pentru Dezvoltare taken over from the state. From this amount, the Romanian state got 138 million dollars, while 62 million dollars were contributed to the bank''s capital.
The French at Societe Generale later got back part of the money paid during the privatisation process by selling their Romanian branch to BRD. The value of the deal in 1999 stood at 25 million dollars (approximately 22 million euros).
Since the privatisation of the bank, the French, in their position as majority shareholders, endorsed the granting of a significant part of their profits in form of dividends, thus collecting around 100 million euros from their BRD investment.
They bought another 7.3% in BRD last autumn, for which they paid 43 million euros, half of the stock market price of the stake, being the only bidders.
From 1998 onwards, the French thus paid approximately 224 million euros for their 58.3% stake and collected half of this amount from BRD.
On the other hand, the increase in the value of BRD was first of all due to the more efficient management and expertise introduced by the French, which coincided with the explosive development of the entire banking system over the last few years.
The state gained almost nothing from the privatisation of the banking system, despite the very large sum it will soon collect for the 36.88% in BCR it sold during the privatisation of the bank, which will fetch it 2.2 billion euros.
This sum, however, does not even cover the losses of Bancorex and Banca Agricola, paid for from state budget, which amount to 3 billion euros.
The state received 50 million dollars for the former Banca Agricola, currently Raiffeisen Bank.
An 8% stake in BCR was sold by the state to the bank''s employees for approximately 25 million euros, while the value of this stake, judging by the price paid by Erste, stands at half a billion euros.
The EBRD and IFC on the other hand paid 220 million dollars (180 million euros) for 25% in BCR, for which they will collect almost five times as much from Erste, 1.51 billion euros. vlad.nicolaescu@zf.ro
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