This article ranks the top banks in Romania by assets, offering a detailed analysis for consumers and businesses alike.

1. Banca Transilvania – BT

Overview: Banca Transilvania (BT) continues to lead the Romanian banking sector, maintaining its position as the largest bank by assets.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: In 2023, BT reported assets nearing 162 billion RON, marking a substantial increase.
• Customer Base: BT serves over 3.5 million clients, dominating the retail banking segment.
• Innovation: BT remains a leader in digital banking with products like BT Pay and a comprehensive suite of online services.

Customer Feedback: Customers appreciate BT’s customer-centric approach and extensive service offerings, making it a top choice for individuals and SMEs.

2. Banca Comercială Română – BCR (Erste Group)

Overview: BCR, part of the Erste Group, is second in the Romanian banking.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: BCR’s assets reached 108 billion RON in 2023, reflecting a 10% growth.
• Branch Network: BCR has an extensive network of branches and ATMs, ensuring wide accessibility.
• Financial Solutions: The bank offers diverse products, including personal loans and investment services.

Customer Feedback: BCR is praised for its comprehensive reach and product diversity, though some users suggest enhancements in digital banking services.

3. CEC Bank

Overview: CEC Bank has made a significant leap, rising from 6th in 2022 to 3rd in 2023.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: CEC Bank’s assets soared to 83.5 billion RON, a remarkable 35% increase.
• Market Share: The bank, controlled by the state through the Ministry of Finance, holds a 10.4% market share.
• Strategic Growth: This rise is attributed to strategic initiatives and enhanced customer engagement.

Customer Feedback: CEC Bank is commended for its rapid growth and increased market presence, attracting a broader customer base.

4. BRD – Groupe Société Générale

Overview: BRD has slipped to the 4th position, reflecting a dynamic competitive landscape.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: BRD maintains a solid financial standing with substantial assets despite the drop.
• Corporate Banking: The bank is known for its strong corporate banking division.
• Digital Services: BRD’s MyBRD mobile app remains popular among users.

Customer Feedback: BRD is recognized for its reliability and robust financial products, although improvements in customer service are suggested.

5. ING Bank

Overview: ING Bank is now the 5th largest bank, maintaining its reputation for innovative banking solutions.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: ING Bank continues to perform well financially.
• Digital Innovation: The bank is lauded for its user-friendly digital platforms and innovative services.
• Customer Focus: ING prioritizes customer satisfaction with personalized banking experiences.

Customer Feedback: Customers favour ING for its digital prowess and customer-centric services.

6. Raiffeisen Bank

Overview: Raiffeisen Bank has fallen to the 6th position yet remains a significant player in the market.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: The bank maintains solid financial health.
• Customer Service: Known for excellent customer service, particularly in retail banking.
• Digital Platforms: Raiffeisen’s Smart Mobile app is widely appreciated.

Customer Feedback: Raiffeisen is often highlighted for its personalized service and reliable digital platforms.

7. UniCredit Bank

Overview: UniCredit Bank, part of the Italian UniCredit Group, is a prominent player in Romania’s banking sector.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: UniCredit reported robust financial results in 2023.
• Corporate Services: The bank excels in corporate and investment banking.
• Technological Advancement: UniCredit’s mobile and online banking services are well-regarded for their security and functionality.

Customer Feedback: UniCredit Bank is valued for its vital corporate banking services and robust digital solutions, though some customers find its fees higher.

8. Exim Bank

Overview: Exim Banca Românească is a critical player in Romania’s banking landscape, particularly for its trade and export financing support.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: The bank showed solid financial growth in 2023.
• Specialized Services: It offers specialized financial products aimed at supporting international trade.
• Customer Base: Exim Bank caters to corporate and retail customers focusing on business growth.

Customer Feedback: Exim Bank is praised for its specialized services and support for businesses engaged in international trade.

9. Alpha Bank

Overview: Alpha Bank continues to be a stable and reliable banking institution in Romania.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: Alpha Bank reported healthy financials in 2023.
• Service Diversity: It offers a wide range of banking products, from personal loans to investment services.
• Branch Network: The bank has a robust network of branches throughout Romania.

Customer Feedback: Alpha Bank is appreciated for its comprehensive service offerings and strong customer support.

10. OTP Bank

Overview: OTP Bank rounds out Romania’s top ten largest banks, known for its steady growth and customer-focused approach.

Key Strengths:

• Financial Performance: OTP Bank displayed solid financial results in 2023.
• Customer Service: The bank is known for its excellent customer service and personalized banking solutions.
• Innovation: OTP Bank continues to innovate in digital banking, enhancing customer experience.

Customer Feedback: Customers value OTP Bank’s personalized service and user-friendly digital platforms.

Other Notable Movements

• Garanti Bank: Overtook Citi, rising to 11th place.
• ProCredit Bank: Moved up to 19th, surpassing BNP Paribas.
• TBI Bank: Ascended to 21st, while Salt Bank fell to 22nd.

Comparatively, in 2022, Banca Transilvania (1st place), BCR (2nd place) and BRD-SocGen (3rd place) were on the podium in the top of the largest banks by assets on the Romanian market, followed by ING Bank (4th place ), Raiffeisen Bank (5th place), CEC Bank (6th place), UniCredit Bank (7th place), Exim Banca Românească (8th place), Alpha Bank (9th place) and OTP Bank (10th place).

The Romanian banking sector has seen significant shifts, particularly with CEC Bank’s impressive rise. Banca Transilvania, BCR, and CEC Bank dominate the top positions, showcasing strong financial performance and strategic growth. As the landscape continues to evolve, these banks exemplify the dynamic and competitive nature of the Romanian banking industry, ensuring a robust financial ecosystem for consumers and businesses alike.

You also might be interested in our TOP Non-Banking Institutions Romania.

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The acquisition involved Intesa Sanpaolo purchasing a 99.98% stake in First Bank S.A. First Bank operates 40 branches across Romania and holds assets worth approximately €1.5 billion. The bank primarily serves small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and retail customers, and it has been actively investing in digital technologies and mobile banking applications.

Strategic Implications for Intesa Sanpaolo

Doubling Presence in Romania: Before the acquisition, Intesa Sanpaolo was already present in Romania through its subsidiary, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania, which operates 34 branches and serves around 60,000 customers. This acquisition effectively doubles the bank’s operational capacity in Romania, enhancing its service capabilities and market reach.

Strengthening CEE Position: The move aligns with Intesa Sanpaolo’s broader strategy to strengthen its presence in the CEE region. The bank’s International Subsidiary Banks Division (ISBD) manages 11 commercial banks in the CEE region and Egypt, and this acquisition further consolidates its market position, providing a solid base for future growth and profitability in the region.

Supporting Italian Businesses Abroad: with its strong economic growth and close ties to Italy, Romania presents a lucrative market for Intesa Sanpaolo. The acquisition supports the internationalization of Italian companies, offering them better banking services and financial support in Romania.

Market and Economic Impact

Romanian Banking Sector: The acquisition of First Bank by Intesa Sanpaolo is a significant development in the Romanian banking sector. It marks the exit of J.C. Flowers & Co., a major US-based private equity firm, from the Romanian market. Given Intesa Sanpaolo’s established reputation and financial strength, this shift is expected to bring more stability and growth opportunities to the sector.

Economic Growth in Romania: Romania’s GDP growth is projected to surpass 3% over the next two years, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the EU. Intesa Sanpaolo’s expanded operations in the country will likely contribute positively to this growth, mainly through enhanced support for SMEs and retail banking customers.

Digital Transformation

First Bank’s ongoing investments in digital technology and mobile banking are expected to complement Intesa Sanpaolo’s digital initiatives. Earlier this year, Intesa Sanpaolo signed an agreement with IBM to adopt innovative technology infrastructures, aiming to launch new digital banking services. This synergy is anticipated to accelerate digital transformation in Romania’s banking sector, providing customers with improved and more efficient banking solutions.

Intesa Sanpaolo’s acquisition of First Bank S.A. marks a significant milestone in the bank’s strategic expansion in the CEE region. Intesa Sanpaolo can leverage the country’s economic growth and strengthen its support for SMEs and retail customers by doubling its presence in Romania. The acquisition enhances the bank’s market position and underscores its commitment to capturing value-driven opportunities and fostering organic growth. As the transaction is completed in early 2024, all eyes will be on how Intesa Sanpaolo integrates First Bank’s operations and accelerates its digital transformation journey in Romania.

This strategic move is poised to benefit both the bank and its customers, driving profitability and contributing to the overall growth and stability of the Romanian banking sector.

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Idea::Bank was acquired by the Romanian Transilvania Bank. It is the third bank acquired by BT after Bancpost in 2018 and Volksbank Romania in 2015.

When choosing the name Salt Bank, we were looking for something that would resonate with us, the people here. It is a name that speaks of our ambitions. We have the courage to innovate today to be better tomorrow and we are determined to develop a safe and reliable bank for the long term.

Gabriela Nistor, CEO Salt Bank

Salt Bank will start activity in 2024.

Banca Transilvania is the largest bank in Romania in terms of assets and it was founded in 1993 in Cluj-Napoca.

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The preparation phase will start in November and will initially last two years. It will involve finalizing the digital euro rulebook and selecting providers that could develop a digital euro platform and infrastructure.

We need to prepare our currency for the future. We envisage a digital euro as a digital form of cash that can be used for all digital payments, free of charge, and meets the highest privacy standards. It would coexist alongside physical cash, always available, leaving no one behind.

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB

As the European Central Bank announced, users could access digital euro services via their payment service provider’s proprietary app and online interface or a digital euro app provided by the Eurosystem. People without access to a bank account or digital devices could also pay with digital euros, for example, by using a card provided by a public body such as a post office. Users could exchange digital euros for cash or vice versa at cash machines.

CBDCs are highly controversial, and skeptics say they will only enslave the population even more. The main concern is that once controlled by the central governing bodies, digital currencies will offer authorities all the tools to know where and how you spend your money and limit your access to those funds if they consider it appropriate. This is why a large percentage of the population still uses cash and has decided to use cash in personal transactions.

On the other hand, the ECB tries to address these concerns by saying that the digital Euro will offer users the highest level of privacy.

We would never have access to or store your personal data, providing the highest level of privacy. It would be almost like using cash regarding privacy standards when paying offline.

European Central Bank on the privacy offered by the digital Euro

China, the most advanced country in digital currency, pushed forward its CBDC when it launched the digital Yuan in 2022, called e-CNY. Transactions in this digital currency reached USD 300 billion in equivalent, the Chinese authorities announced recently, which is quite impressive.

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Despite Tiriac Leasing IFN being one of the largest non-banking institutions in Romania, This transaction does not represent a significant change in the financial position of Banca Transilvania, as the assets to be added represent less than 1% of the assets of the BT group.

According to the statement, Tiriac Leasing will continue to operate as a separate entity until the completion of the acquisition procedures, and only after this date will the integration process within the group commence.

Tiriac Leasing was established in 1999 under the name Molesey Leasing Group. Tiriac Group is controlled by the former tennis player Ion Tiriac, the second richest man in Romania. According to the latest Romanian billionaires top, his net worth is $ 1.64 Billion.

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Romania doesn’t have anything to get by participating in this bank. There are many question marks about the activity of this bank. As for me, I am surprised and unpleasantly surprised to see this memorandum signed by the former minister and forwarded to be approved by the Government. We should conduct an investigation to see who persuaded him that this is a good thing for Romania to invest millions in a Russian bank.

Romanian PM Florin Citu on the Romanian participation at the International Investment Bank

The International Investment Bank was established in 1970, with the participation of the countries from the socialist bloc. Namely, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia (currently the Czech Republic and Slovakia), Hungary, Mongolia, Romania, USSR (currently Russia), and Vietnam.

Romania’s participation in the bank reaches 6.8%. Other countries to participate in the bank are Russia (45.5%), Bulgaria (12.80%), Hungary (12.14%), Czech Republic (11.34%), Slovakia (6.52%), Cuba (1,63%), Vietnam (1,11%) and Mongolia (1,03%).

Romanian PM is known for his position against the International Investment Bank. In 2019, when he was a member of the Romanian Parliament, in Opposition, he criticized the minister of Finance at that moment for increasing Romania’s participation in the bank. He even accused the minister of being ‘a Russian spy’.

This time he is the PM and he is definitely opposing a similar move from his Government.

This subject comes only days after Romania announced it would sell its participation at KGOCOR in Krivoy Rog, another socialist-born initiative from the times when the region was dominated by the USSR. These are not only symbolic gestures, such as a break of the country with its communist past but economic decisions at the same time. How much will lose Romania after these decisions, only the future will tell.

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Vista Bank, former Marfin Bank, belongs to a Greek group, Vardinogiannis, founded by Vardinogiannis family. Among others, one of the Vardinogiannis family members is the owner of Panathinaikos Athena, the famous football club, but the family also has businesses in the oil industry, shipping and banking.

Once the transaction is finalized, Vista Bank will have total financial assets of EUR 1.2 B, loans of EUR 750 M and deposits summing EUR 1.1 B.

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The fraud was so big as related to the GDP of the Republic of Moldova, namely 13%, as it made people take to the streets and protest against the authorities. Also, the local currency, Moldovan Leu, depreciated to a big extent and the international monetary help was suspended for the Eastern European country.

Victoriabank is controlled by a consortium form by the largest Romanian Bank, Banca Transilvania, and the EBRD – European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, both having a total participation of 72% of the shares.

The management of Victoriabank expressed surprise at the prosecutors’ actions and mentioned that the judicial process has nothing to do with the current management or with the current development phase of the bank. Also, the press release mentions the bank fully cooperates with the Moldovan prosecutors.

Banca Transilvania and EBRD will take all the necessary legal measures to protect Victoriabank. We are fully open to offer the authorities all the requested information, as it is also in our own interest to straight these things up for good. Victoriabank goes forward, on the road it stepped on 30 years ago, with the momentum it takes advantage from starting in 2018, due to the international investors. All the 1,200 employees will continue to serve our clients. Victoriabank continues its activity as before, in order to finance the Moldovan economy and to overpass the situation created by COVID-19. We are confident that during the next phases of the process all the accusations against Victoriabank will be dropped. Meanwhile, our bank will continue to strongly play its role as a financer of the Moldovan people and of the Moldovan economy.

Bogdan Plesuvescu, the President of Victoriabank

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Banks in Romania continue to make significant concessions to those who turn to the CSALB. An example is the case of a family in Bucharest whose bank has wiped out more than 43,000 Swiss francs in debt and closed the loan.

The case of a family in a difficult situation in Bucharest exemplifies both the solutions that can be obtained by Romanian people with CSALB and the contribution of conciliators in the negotiation process, as well as the actual activity in online conciliation, which became a habit during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions. Thus, a family with three children, who were paying their installments heavily on two loans denominated in CHF, at two different banks, obtained in the Center the complete cancellation of debt and a 30% reduction of another loan. All this has happened in less than half a year since the first application was submitted.

According to a press release, from the beginning of the year CSALB received 972 applications addressed to banks and 255 applications addressed to Non Financial Institutions – NFIs. So far, 247 applications have been accepted for negotiation by banks and only 11 by NFIs.

To these are added 120 amicably resolved requests (banks and NFIs), after notifying CSALB (these requests have not entered the negotiation procedure, the agreement between the two parties was reached directly). The rest of the applications are in the analysis phase or have been rejected by banks / NFIs for objective or unjustified reasons. In the last four years, the benefits obtained by consumers from the negotiations exceed 3 million euros.

Approximately 20% of the cases solved by CSALB have benefits exceeding 5,000 Euros and were obtained through reductions or complete deletions of the balance, the decrease of commissions or interests and/or the refund of amounts collected in the past.

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Vonage offers communications APIs – including messaging, voice and video communication solutions – that enable agile enterprises to enhance their customer experience and realize new business outcomes at scale. With a fully-integrated platform and global presence, Vonage APIs offer a simple, agile way to integrate with the WhatsApp Business solution, through which Banca Transilvania’s virtual assistant will provide customers with access to critical information.

As a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, Vonage uses its Messages API to power the AI-driven Banca Transilvania virtual assistant, ‘Raul‘, to use deep learning and natural language processing to simplify day-to-day business activities. Customers can use the WhatsApp chatbot for services such as balance queries, checking payment obligations for credit cards and exchange rates.

A spokesperson for Banca Transilvania commented, “With a continuous focus on business transformation through innovation, Banca Transilvania prioritized the launch of our WhatsApp chatbot to help customers with home banking throughout the COVID-19 health crisis. In these unprecedented times it’s vital for financial services providers to be able to deliver a continuous, effective service, and quickly adopting new communication channels enables customers to easily engage with the bank and resolve their queries.”

“Vonage is proud to power communications solutions that connect people with the support they need,” said Eric Le Guiniec, Global SVP – Communication APIs Sales for Vonage. “The Vonage Messages API allowed Banca Transilvania to build a solution that enables the company to engage with customers around the world via the channels they prefer, and reinvent its business model with a more modern, personal way of providing services and support.“

About Vonage
Vonage (Nasdaq: VG) is redefining business communications, making communications more flexible, intelligent, and personal, to help enterprises the world over, stay ahead. They provide unified communications, contact centers and programmable communications APIs, built on the world’s most flexible cloud communications platform.

Vonage Holdings Corp. is headquartered in New Jersey, with offices throughout the United States, Europe, Israel, Australia and Asia.

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