Banca Transilvania , Romania’s third-biggest bank, said on Wednesday it would buy Austrian lender Volksbanken AG’s Romanian business, in a deal that could mark the first move in a wave of sector consolidation in the eastern European country, according to Reuters.com.Neither side disclosed financial details of the acquisition although Banca Transilvania described the price as „reasonable” for both sides. The deal is set to close in the first half of 2015 pending regulatory approval.
The acquisition is an important step for Banca Transilvania towards its aim of becoming Romania’s second-largest lender in a market some see as overcrowded, with too many banks grappling with weak lending growth and bad loans.
