An emerging markets powerhouse
EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS DOMINATE the competitive central and eastern European banking market. Italy’s UniCredit, Austria’s Erste and Raiffeisen, Belgium’s KBC and France’s Société Générale are by far the biggest international banks in the region, with a combined total asset pool of $290 billion. The US banks, in contrast, are largely conspicuous by their absence. There are two exceptions, though. One is the ubiquitous Citi. The other is the equally ubiquitous but perhaps less flamboyant GE Money, the consumer finance and banking arm of the industrial conglomerate General Electric.
Over the past 15 years, GE Money has established itself as a coming force in emerging Europe. It now has a presence in eight countries (the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia and Turkey) achieved primarily through acquisitions and strategic partnerships...
