Investment consortium backed by PineBridge Investments acquires MKB Romexterra Bank

MKB Romexterra Bank, controlled by Hungarian MKB Bank that is majority owned by German bank BayernLB, was sold to a consortium of investors supported by investment fund PineBridge Investments, which managed assets totaling USD 67.3 billion at-end December.

The transaction of a 92.4 stake in Romexterra is pending approvement from the National Bank of Romania and the Competition Council.

“The objective is to create a successful, market-leading banking group in South East Europe through the acquisition and consolidation of medium-sized banks in the region,” said Pierre Mellinger, head of Central and Eastern Europe private equity at PineBridge Investments.

Mellinger said that extending credit to small and medium-sized enterprises can represent a viable plan in Romania, on a market where bank lending has been reduced by the ongoing crisis.

MKB Romexterra Bank was established in 1993 and was acquired by MKB Bank in 2006. The bank had a network of 47 units, employing 600 people. The lender had 82,000 retail and corporate clients.

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In late 2010, the lender went through a rebranding campaign becoming MKB Nextebank.

Ovidiu Posirca