The EBRD welcomed the acquisition by Romania’s Banca Transilvania of a 39.2% stake in Victoriabank, a key bank in Moldova. This is the first time since 2007 that a foreign bank has entered the Moldovan market.

Following this transaction, which closed today in Chisinau, Banca Transilvania became Victoriabank’s largest shareholder. The EBRD, a minority shareholder, together with Banca Transilvania holds a majority stake of 66.7% in the Moldovan bank.

The EBRD increased its stake in Victoriabank to 27.5% in 2016, in an effort to restore effective corporate governance and to attract a strong strategic investor to the country’s third-largest bank. The EBRD strengthened its holding via an investment vehicle, VB Investment Holding, domiciled outside Moldova and owned and controlled by the Bank.

Banca Transilvania made its investment in Victoriabank using the same investment vehicle.

Henry Russell, EBRD Director, Financial Institutions, Western Balkans, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, said: “We are very proud to have attracted a strong strategic partner such as Banca Transilvania to become a shareholder in Victoriabank. The next step the EBRD is considering is to restart the lending programme for small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova by providing funding to Victoriabank, which would enable longer-term loans to SMEs, thereby supporting both their growth and job creation and, more broadly, economic growth. We believe Banca Transilvania’s entry into the Moldovan market is an important step towards restructuring and modernising the country’s financial sector.”

Banca Transilvania is Romania’s second-largest bank by assets, with the EBRD as a minority shareholder.

The EBRD has been a major financier of Moldova’s banking system, but has reduced its total lending to the financial sector to focus on the few locally active banks with transparent ownership and high standards of corporate governance, integrity and sound financial performance. The institution stands ready to resume business with banks that meet these high standards.

The EBRD is a major investor in Moldova. In 2017 alone, the Bank invested a record EUR 130 million in the country’s economy. Since beginning operations in the country, the EBRD has invested over EUR 1 billion in sectors such as infrastructure, energy, banking, industry, commerce and agriculture.