Best Bank:
Romanian Bank for Development
Best debt house:
ING
Best Equity house:
ING
Best M&A house:
ING Barings
The takeover of the Romanian Bank for Development (BRD) by Société Générale in March 1999 has been described as the best thing that could have happened to the Romanian banking system.
Although BRD cannot be put on an equal footing with the other best banks of the region, it has gone further down the path of transition than any other Romanian bank.
BRD is the second-largest bank in Romania after the state-owned Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR). BRD comes second in its share both of retail deposits (20%) as well as corporate deposits (16%).
It was able to expand its retail accounts by 55% in 2000, which is noteworthy considering that only about 2 million out of a population of 22 million have a banking relationship at all. BRD has offered a range of personal loans and developed banking card services. In July 2000 it also introduced a service to transfer funds internationally through the Western Union system.
BRD is also active in corporate finance, and since December 2000 has offered a new cash management product, MultiX, to corporate clients. BRD added to its corporate loan portfolio the high-quality customers of SocGen. There are not many good local corporates to lend to. But with the second-largest network of 186 branches it could well take the lead in the maturing market.
However, there is a risk for BRD of losing its dominant position to Raiffeisenbank, which is in the process of acquiring Banca Agricola. Raiffeisenbank is already one of the best foreign commercial banks and Agricola has a good retail customer base and a large branch network. The new bank will rank fourth in assets, after BCR, BRD and Banca Post.
ING wins the award for best debt house for its unmatched presence in the market. It acted as joint book runner for one of the most impressive deals from the region last year, the e300 million five-year bond for the sovereign. SSSB also participated in bringing this benchmark, but it cannot match ING on the syndicated loan side.
ING solely arranged the first non-guaranteed loan in Romania in July 2000, a $65 million facility for the national oil company Petrom. It co-arranged a $148 million export finance facility for the ministry of public works, and this April it was sole arranger for a $82 million loan for airline Tarom. ING is again at the forefront of developments. It prepares the first non-government guaranteed corporate Euro-bond issue, a e50 million debut for Petrom.
ING Barings wins the best M&A house award. It advised Brewery Holdings Limited on the largest transaction in Romania – a e165 million takeover bid by Austrian Brau Union. The only other deal, the privatization of the largest chemical manufacturer, state-owned Oltchim, attracted a mere $10 million cash payment according to local newspapers.
Altogether, ING Barings helped bring into Romania third-party investments of $500 million over the course of 2000.
ING is the second-largest dealer in equities on the Bucharest stock exchange. Like the number one, a local company called Vanguard, ING offers research on equity, but it beats Vanguard to the best equity house award through being hooked into broader international distribution.
