New entries and top escalations in banking and finance

Piraeus Bank went up from 70th place last year to ninth in this year's top 100 foreign investors. The bank opened 50 new units this year, and plans to add five more by the end of the year. The bank has rapidly expanded its network of units, from 90 in September last year, to a planned 180th unit at the end of the year.
Erste Group managed to stay high up in the ranking, in 13th position, although lower than last year, when it was number 8. The Austrian bank, main shareholder in local BCR, was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange earlier this year.
The bank said last year it was planning to spend EUR 200 million on integrating BCR into the group and on growing the bank and consolidating its position on the market. The program will involve 550 specialists in mixed teams – BCR and Erste – and is scheduled to end in 2009.
ING Fond de Pensii (Pension Fund) is among the top 50 foreign investors in Romania, according to BR's Top 100, and has kept a fairly similar position to last year: it used to rank 38th, and now is in place 34. The company, which holds 33 percent of the mandatory private pensions pillar on the local market, invested in the campaign which attracted 1.3 million pension subscriptions. Company representatives said the investment needed to attract each customer reached EUR 100 per person. New entries in the list were Intesa San Paolo, Generali Holding, Eureko, the shareholder of Interamerican insurance, EFG New Europe Holding, main shareholder in EFG Leasing and EFG Retail Services.

Corina Saceanu