Exim Banca Romaneasca building a solid and healthy foundation for future growth

Following the merger between EximBank and Banca Romaneasca at the end of last year, the newly formed universal bank, Exim Banca Romaneasca, has adopted an organic growth strategy based on increasing the degree of financial intermediation to consolidate its position on the financial-banking market. Traian Halalai, the Executive President of Exim Banca Romaneasca SA, told Business Review all about the bank’s strategy in Romania.

By Anda Sebesi

What were the biggest challenges in the merger process between Banca Romaneasca and EximBank SA?

The merger with Banca Romaneasca was completed on December 31, 2022, so we are now approaching the first anniversary of our operations as Exim Banca Romaneasca, a new top Romanian universal bank. This year, the main challenge has been integrating the retail component to continue our mission of supporting prosperity growth in Romania and strengthening our role as a growth partner, aligning with customer expectations. I would say that we have successfully overcome this challenge.

It certainly helped a lot that many aspects had been adjusted even before the merger, namely internal operating mechanisms, including procedures and regulations, so this year we’ve been able to focus on the functional aspects of the new operational model. We’re talking about a substantial volume of work, and I want to thank the entire team for their involvement and results.

We have gone through a period of major transformation, but I want to emphasise that our mission remains the same: to support the growth of prosperity in Romania and to build sustainable partnerships for the social well-being and economic performance of our clients by accelerating financial intermediation.

Currently, Exim Banca Romaneasca operates on two key pilars: the activity it carries out in its own name and account—just like any other universal commercial bank on the market—and the operations it performs on behalf of the state, which are independent of the commercial component and include state guarantees and insurance products, according to its mandate.

In this context, we have an organic growth strategy which is based on accelerating the pace of financial intermediation in order to consolidate our position on the financial-banking services market as a solid credit institution that is capable of dealing with any development in the Romanian economy, with all the ensuing challenges, all while acting with prudence and responsibility. Our goal is to build a solid and healthy foundation for future growth, and we are confident that we will be able to do so just like we have managed to develop at a rapid pace over the last 11 years, having built a strong brand on the banking market.

How is the banking system coping with this period of successive crises?

Unfortunately, the economic context continues to be extremely volatile and unpredictable, with risks coming simultaneously from multiple areas, making any attempt to anticipate the effects on the economy and society extremely difficult.

However, I am confident that the banking system will adjust its decisions based on current developments, just as it has done so far, because we must not forget that the last few years have been full of challenges. We have all gone through a difficult time, but we have also proven that we could adapt to changes and face difficult situations.

The banking system has played a decisive role throughout this period, and I am fully convinced that it will continue to support the real economy prudently and responsibly, aligning its actions with government policies and the monetary policy of the national bank.

Meanwhile, we will continue to focus on our fundamental objective of providing appropriate and well adapted responses to the real needs of our customers, as well as conducting economically efficient financial intermediation operations.

In what ways do you support companies in the Romanian economy that have been affected by crises, most of which have been external?

We are constantly connected to economic developments and pay attention to the demands of our clients, which allows us to fulfil our promise of supporting Romanian companies by launching financial instruments that respond to the real needs of the market.

Exim Banca Romaneasca has always been one of the most proactive financial players, aligning its strategy with macroeconomic developments, client expectations, and the government’s objectives. We have been involved in projects with similar institutions in Europe and beyond, to create favourable contexts for the development of the local economy.

In the context of the turmoil on the international scene (pandemic, energy crisis, rising raw material prices, the war, etc.), Exim Banca Romaneasca has coordinated with similar institutions in other EU member states and rapidly adapted its portfolio with products that offer Romanian companies equivalent operating conditions to those of companies in the rest of the European Union. I am particularly referring to the state aid schemes we have implemented, such as the Financial Programme to support large companies and SMEs (Covid-19) or the State Aid Scheme aimed at providing liquidity and access to financing for companies facing difficulties in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Although we are now a new bank, we maintain our uniqueness on the Romanian market and, independently of the specific components of a universal bank, we continue to operate in the segment of state guarantees and insurance. We aim to implement support programmes that are well adapted to the needs of the business environment and aligned with the macroeconomic coordinates and objectives set by state authorities.

How is the banking system in general, and Exim Banca Romaneasca in particular, adapting to digital transformation? What about ESG and sustainability criteria?

The Fintech sector has been seeing rapid expansion process for several years now, and the process has been hastened by the general trend whereby consumers expect banks to respond to requests with the same speed as online shops.

Clearly, we must become increasingly efficient and flexible and start using more and more technology. I believe this trend will manifest in all fields, not just in banking.

Digital transformation, especially in the financial-banking segment where trust is the most valuable asset, represents a complex process that needs to be customer-centric. It must provide increased agility and response speed under conditions of high security, stability, and availability.

In this context, with the completion of the merger, Exim Banca Romaneasca has entered a new phase of stabilisation, development, and modernisation, prioritising the consolidation and expansion of alternative customer interaction channels as well as the optimisation and automation of certain flows and processes to increase customer satisfaction and employee productivity.

As part of our digital transformation roadmap, we have launched a new internet banking solution for corporate clients, and by the end of this year, we plan to expand the platform with internet and mobile banking functionalities for retail clients. We have also diversified payment options by implementing contactless mobile phone payments and launched a digital enrolment platform offering easy, fast, and secure online access to a complete package of products and services. We also aim to diversify and harmonise customer interaction and service methods by operationalising solutions that allow an omnichannel or omniaccess approach, as well as to enrich the experience by offering Kiosk or Front-end solutions in our branches.

Regarding the ESG area, as a leading universal bank, Exim Banca Romaneasca has the responsibility of offering safe, sustainable, and high-quality banking products that support the transition to a green economy. Accordingly, we have defined our goals and established strategic measures for sustainable activity using the concept of “double materiality,” namely the impact of environmental, social, and governance factors on financial performance, alongside their impact on the environment and society.

We have already initiated projects that integrate the best sustainability practices, both in terms of internal processes—focusing on limiting our energy consumption and carbon footprint—and particularly by aligning our financing strategy with sustainability regulations. For example, we have recently started transitioning our card portfolio to a sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative, so all newly issued cards will be made from recyclable material.

In addition to our existing portfolio, we will continue to develop products and services that feature sustainability components, be they dedicated products or ones that integrate ESG criteria into financing and investment decisions. Through our actions, we aim to amplify the positive effects that sustainable lending policies have on the community and the environment, since Exim Banca Romaneasca has both the capacity and the flexibility to propose solutions and support complex projects.

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