Greece's NBG looking at options on Romanian unit after sale rejected
ATHENS, March 19 (Reuters) - Greece’s National Bank (NBG) said on Monday it is considering other options on its Romanian subsidiary Banca Romaneasca after Romania’s central bank rejected a deal to sell the unit to Hungary’s OTP Bank .
NBG had agreed in July last year to sell 99.28 percent of Banca Romaneasca to OTP Bank Romania, a unit of OTP Bank, as part of an EU-approved restructuring plan.
The sale, subject to approval by regulatory authorities, was expected to close later this year and boost OTP’s Romanian market share to about 4 percent.
But last week Romania’s central bank rejected OTP Bank’s acquisition of Banca Romaneasca, without elaborating.
“NBG is considering various strategic options in relation to its operations in Romania and in line with its restructuring plan,” the Greek lender said.
Credit Suisse International is NBG’s exclusive financial advisor on the sale. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, editing by Louise Heavens)