CEE’s best bank transformation 2017: Banca Comerciala Romana

Awards for Excellence 2017

When Erste bought Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) in 2005, the bank came with a lot of baggage. As the main financier of Romania’s corporate sector through much of the post-Communist period, it was deeply embedded in the power structures of a country notorious for bad governance and lack of transparency. 

What this meant for BCR and its new owner became clear when the financial crisis hit in 2008. As Romania’s economy plunged into recession and a real estate bubble burst, huge portfolios of corporate debt began to turn sour.