In the last 12 years, the number of banks in Romania decreased from 42 to 32, and the consolidation process continues with a sense of acceleration felt last year, informs Ziarul Financiar. Although the current context implies higher investments, a higher level of capital and implicitly higher costs, consolidation through mergers is the easiest way through which the banking system can move forward, the bankers said. At the same time, the competition is still quite high, the bankers claim, even if almost 90% of the Romanian banking market belongs to the first 10 largest banks.
The level of banking still has room to develop, and there is room for niche banks, even if bankers are of the opinion that the universal bank model is currently the most suitable for a market like the one in Romania, precisely through the lens of the existing potential . Thus, the presence of banks in all segments of the market offers a wider perspective of development on the local market and a stronger growth impulse, according to the bankers present at the annual BNR-ASE conference with the theme related to the development prospects of the Romanian banking sector.
Tags: Ten banks disappeared Romania years
