Romania's BCR Bank To Buy Pension Fund Manager Omniasig Pensii

The transaction needs the approval of Romania's Commission for Supervision of the Private Pension System, CSSPP, BCR said in a statement.

Omniasig Pensii, owned by Dutch-based TBIH Financial Services Group and Omniasig Vienna Insurance Group, will continue to manage Omniforte, BCR said.

BCR manages the pension fund BCR Fond de Pensii. Following the acquisition, BCR Group plans to merge Omniforte and BCR Fond de Pensii.

According to data from the CSSPP, there are 14 mandatory pension funds and 14 fund managers in Romania.

Romania has reformed its pay-as-you-go pension system to create a three-pillar system, which consists of a government-run pension fund, a number of private funds that invest mandatory pension contributions made by employees younger than 35 years of age, and privately-held voluntary funds that provide supplementary pensions.

BCR, majority owned by Austria's Erste Bank, is Romania's top bank in terms of assets.