Victoriabank took its first steps in December 1989, in the Republic of Moldova. It was given the name Victoriabank as a symbol of the “fight for victory,” in other words the ambition to grow. For 30 years, Victoriabank has been at a gallop — a gallop symbolized by the horse that featured in the bank’s logo until December 2019 and reflected in its ranking among the top three banks in the Republic of Moldova. Since 2018, Victoriabank has entered a brand‑new phase: BT became a shareholder and that’s how the strategic partnership began, across the border, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Since 2019, Victoriabank has had a new brand identity that better conveys its drive to chalk up new victories. Let’s hear its story!

"I was immediately taken with the idea of starting a bank"

In 1989, around this time of year, Victor Turcan, Chairman of the Board, founder and shareholder of Victoriabank, received a proposal from Ms. Galina Proidisvet — at the time coordinator of the Chisinau branch of Promostroibank, and now a Victoriabank shareholder — to found a commercial bank, the first in the Republic of Moldova. “I was immediately taken with the idea of starting a bank. I didn’t have any savings, but I understood it was something new and promising. We set about discussing ideas and doing the numbers. At that time, there wasn’t a single commercial bank in the Republic of Moldova, while the first such institutions had only just appeared in Moscow and Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg” – Turcan told us, speaking with deep affection for Victoriabank.

If today the minimum capital required to set up a bank is over 385 million rubles, back then it was 5 million rubles, so discussions and meetings began with potential investors in the area. The first to believe in the idea and want to invest was the Valeologia Association, contributing 1 million rubles. By December that same year, more investors had joined, bringing the total to 9.1 million rubles, almost double the minimum required. That was the first victory.

Victoriabank and Its First Steps

With enthusiasm, confidence and the necessary capital, Victoriabank was founded on December 22, 1989 by the State Cooperative Association “Valeologia,” “Moldghiprostroi,” “Moldghiproprom,” “Moldghiintiz,” “Aschim,” “Moldgaz,” Chisinau City Hall and the Chisinau Glass Factory — now the largest glassmaker in Moldova, established in 1970.

That was also when the bank’s name was chosen. The first proposal was Valeologia — after the Valeologia Association, which believed in the bank’s success from the outset. On how the name Victoriabank was settled, Valeriu Turcan recalls: “Although we were thinking of Valeologia, the team from the State Bank in Moscow suggested we find another name. It was exactly the time when all sorts of cooperatives were springing up with names like momentum, success, diamond. But a bank needed a solid name. That’s how we arrived at VICTORIA.” Victoriabank’s brand colors are blue and red, expressing trust, success and pride.

Another key step was registering Victoriabank with the State Bank of the USSR, on February 22, 1990. This was followed by the opening of the first unit, in Balti, the second‑largest city in the Republic of Moldova by population — now around 140,000.

The story continued with Victoriabank’s first banking operation, which took place on April 12, 1990, the first clients being local cooperatives. “At the time we had rented an apartment on Alexei Sciusev Street in Chisinau. To save money, we brought whatever we could from home: tables, chairs, phones. The computer — a Robotron back then — was rented and, because we didn’t have a guard, before going home we would disassemble it each time and put it in the safe. We didn’t even have an alarm system; outside there was just a lightbulb, for show. There were five of us on the team and each of us did everything we could so that, through our first results, we would earn the founders’ and clients’ trust. We worked hard.” – recalls Turcan. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became a shareholder in Victoriabank in 1995, opening a new chapter for the bank.

Victoriabank … firsts 

Over the years, Victoriabank has marked many firsts, giving clients the chance to be the first to benefit from new ways to bank. A few of them are:

• The first bank in the Republic of Moldova — a fact reflected in its visual identity as well, on the logo: “The first bank in Moldova” (1989).
• The first bank in the Republic of Moldova to obtain funding from an international financial institution, from the EBRD, in the amount of USD 4 million to support local SMEs (1995).
• Issued the first payment cards in the Republic of Moldova (1997).
• The first POS terminal in the Republic of Moldova was Victoriabank’s and was installed at the Dacia Hotel in Chisinau (1997).
• The first ATM in the Republic of Moldova was also Victoriabank’s (1998).
• The first bank in the Republic of Moldova to implement an eCommerce program for online merchants (2004).
• The first Visa Premium card (2004), Visa Platinum (2011) and the first Visa Infinite card (2011) in the Republic of Moldova.
• VictoriaPay, the first contactless mobile payment service in the Republic of Moldova (2017).
• The ability to pay contactless with a smartwatch (2019).
  
  

The Victoriabank story: a new chapter starting in 2018

2018 brought a breath of fresh air to Victoriabank, as Banca Transilvania became, alongside the EBRD, a shareholder. In essence, BT set out to replicate its business model at Victoriabank, with the help of the two banks’ teams. Banca Transilvania announced this in January 2018 via a press release. “A year on from this step, Victoriabank is enjoying everything this has brought for its clients and its team: from reorganizing business lines, and launching products and services, to regular BT – Victoriabank team meetings — for which Cluj – Bucharest – Chisinau flights have been part of the routine for some time now” – said Bogdan Plesuvescu, Chairman of the Management Committee, Victoriabank. BT and Victoriabank talked about the first fruits of their collaboration in January 2018, and details can be found here.

In 2019, a number of BT projects and brands were launched at Victoriabank, such as: Victoriabank Club, a personal and professional development program for entrepreneurs; Padurea Victoriabank, in Budesti, where a 3‑hectare area was afforested; the Unlimited Package for SMEs; Victoriabank Friday, an online banking shopping campaign; the Star shopping card, etc. 

This is Victoriabank’s story so far, which today means almost 270,000 clients, 100 locations in more than 30 localities in the Republic of Moldova, and a team of nearly 1,100 people.

For Victoriabank, every victory is a step closer to today’s clients and those yet to come.