Romania's antitrust body clears First Bank's takeover by Intesa

The Competition Council found no significant concerns regarding the effect of the transaction on competition within the Romanian market, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Intesa Sanpaolo, which has been present in Romania since 1996, announced in October 2023 that it would acquire 99.98% of the shares of First Bank from U.S. private equity fund J.C. Flowers.

First Bank was established in Romania in 1995 as Pater Bank. Subsequently, the lender was acquired by Greece's Piraeus Bank in 2000 and bought by J.C. Flowers in 2018. In 2019, First Bank took over Leumi Bank Romania.

Last week, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it teamed up with Asset Portfolio Servicing (APS) to invest in a non-performing loan (NPL) portfolio sold by Piraeus Bank Greece in Romania.