The merger between UniCredit Bank S.A. and Alpha Bank România S.A. has been successfully completed, marking a major milestone for Italy’s UniCredit Group in Eastern Europe. The combined entity now holds 11% market share in assets, 13% in loans, and 11% in deposits, positioning it as Romania’s third-largest banking group. With a network of 300 branches and 900 ATMs, the new UniCredit
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Fitch Ratings maintained Romania’s investment-grade credit status on Friday, keeping its “BBB-” rating but warning that the outlook remains “negative” due to mounting fiscal imbalances. “The Negative Outlook reflects the significant deterioration of Romania’s public finances, demonstrated by a large fiscal deficit and rapidly rising government debt/GDP,” the agency said. Last year, Romania posted a budget deficit of over 9% of GDP,
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Private equity (PE) funds completed five acquisitions and five exits in Romania during the first half of 2025, marking an increase compared to the same period last year. When including add-on deals, the total number of transactions by private equity funds rose by 14% compared to H1 2024, according to consultancy firm Roland Berger. “These results confirm the findings of our Private
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At the end of May 2025, broad money (M3) in Romania reached RON 749.9 billion (~€151.2 billion), up 0.9% month-on-month and 8.7% year-on-year, according to data from the National Bank of Romania (BNR). Adjusted for inflation, the real annual growth rate stood at 3.1%. Loans to the non-government sector rose by 1.5% month-on-month to RON 431.8 billion (~€87.1 billion), with a 9.7% annual increase.
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SIGNAL IDUNA ASIGURARE REASIGURARE has received final approval from Romania’s Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) to acquire a majority stake in Garanta Asigurări, formerly owned by Ethniki Insurance, Greece’s most established composite insurer. This marks another strategic step in SIGNAL IDUNA’s steady expansion in Romania, a country where the group has operated for over 16 years. Known for its focus on health and
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Romania’s Ministry of Finance (MF) has successfully attracted a total of RON 1.6 billion (EUR 330 million) through the fifth Fidelis government bond issuance of 2025, targeting retail investors. The funds were raised via seven separate issues—amounting to RON 537 million and EUR 222 million—and were listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on Friday, June 20th. This latest offering was part
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The National Bank of Romania (NBR) reported that as of 31 May 2025, foreign exchange reserves stood at EUR 55,661 million, down from EUR 62,414 million on 30 April 2025 — a decline of over EUR 6.7 billion in one month. This significant decrease was driven by outflows totaling EUR 12,580 million, including changes in credit institutions’ required foreign currency reserves, repayments
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The Romanian leu, one of the most stable currencies in Eastern Europe, depreciated against the euro on Wednesday (May 14), with the National Bank of Romania (BNR) announcing an exchange rate of 5.1036 lei per euro. This marked a slight decline from Tuesday’s (May 13) rate of 5.0991 lei, reflecting ongoing pressure on the local currency. Last Tuesday (May 6), the leu
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As of April 30, 2025, Romania’s foreign exchange reserves at the National Bank of Romania (NBR) stood at EUR 62,414 million, a slight increase from EUR 61,993 million recorded on March 31, 2025. During the month, the central bank registered EUR 6,662 million in inflows, primarily due to changes in credit institutions’ foreign currency-denominated required reserves, inflows into the Ministry of Finance’s
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SAI Globinvest, one of the Romanian companies with tradition in the management of the investments in Romania, listed on April 28, the second sector ETF on the Regulated Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) with the ticker symbol GIBEFETF. Globinvest Energy & Financials ETF aims at full replication of the benchmark index structure Bucharest Exchange Trading Energy, Utilities and Financials Index
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