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BCR: Romania’s banking giant

Banca Comerciala Romana is awakening to a world of opportunities and challenges With its know-how and a 300-strong branch and agency network, it is well-placed to distribute its products and services and make headway in the retail market.Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) is the Romanian banking sector’s sleeping giant. Not only is it the largest bank, with roughly a 30% market share and nearly four million customers (doubled from two million in early 2000), but in the period 2000-2003 it generated total profits of almost $750m. In 2003 it delivered a strong performance with net profits of over $160m, in line with 2002’s performance.
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Few might suspect that BCR, in fact, stands out as the fourth largest bank in The Banker’s central and eastern Europe (CEE) rankings, up from eighth place in 2002.

As BCR awakens, the environment it faces is full of opportunities, but also full of threats. While in recent years it has successfully leveraged its size into substantial profits, as the market grows and becomes more competitive and sophisticated, BCR will have to rise to the challenge by showing that it can keep up the pace. Aggressively launching and distributing new products while maintaining a strong grasp over risk management will play a key role in maintaining BCR’s market dominance in the years to come.

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