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BRD network numbers 879 units

Agerpres special correspondent Constantin Balaban reports: BRD Groupe Societe General numbered, in end June 2008, as many as 879 units, 73 units more than at the end of 2007, according to data presented on Thursday, at a press conference, by French banking group Societe Generale.

According to the group's CEO Patrick Gelin, the programme of development of the BRD network started in 2004 and in three years, (2005-2007) the BRD network rose by over 600 units, so the bank has practically opened a unit every workday. The efficiency threshold was reached, on average, in a year.

Gelin said BRD played an important role in the upgrading of the banking sector in Romania, by the introduction of new market services and products.

With reference to the baking sector in Romania, Gelin said Romania continues to be an emergent country, so the products BRD markets are basic products, such as term deposits and credit cards.

He believes things will change in future, the market will become more and more sophisticated. Gelin thinks there is a high potential for products such as savings accounts on medium and long term, asset management, distribution channels, structured financing and such like. BRD has an important competitive advantage, taking into account that it has the largest network of banking units in Romania and that it benefits from the expertise of the group Societe Generale in all fields.

Evaluating the total investment of the French group in the past ten years for extension of tis activities of retail banking at international level, head of that division of SocGen Jean Louis Mattei estimated that over 1999-2008, the group has spent around four billion euros on development.

Speaking of the impact of the financial crisis on crediting, Gelin cautioned that things are not measured in the same way in Western Europe and in Eastern Europe.

In Romania, for example, the rise in crediting stood, in 2007, between 40 and 50 percent, and this year it is expected to stand between 20 and 25 percent.

Comparing an annual record growth of 50 percent with a 25 percent growth, one can speak of a slow down, but a rise of 25 percent continues to be a comfortable one, and so SocGen is not worried about the impact of the world financial crisis on Central and Eastern Europe.

SocGen is one of the biggest financial groups in the euro area. With more than 150,000 employees worldwide, the group carries out its activity mainly in retail banking and financial services, asset management and services for investors.

SocGen is the 11th biggest European bank and the sixth biggest bank in the euro-area. In Romania, SocGen is the second biggest bank, with assets worth some 12 billion euros. The bank has over 2.5 million clients and operates a network of over 850 units. It has the second highest stock exchange capitalization on Bucharest Stock Exchange.

 

Sursa: http://www.rompress.ro

Tags: romania socgen percent gelin group network brd units banking euro

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