"Broker" Cluj waives the payments from the management of the companies in its portfolio

• The compensation packages for the management of the companies in the portfolio of BRK, wired directly into the accounts of the managers of "Broker"

Brokerage company "Broker" Cluj (symbol: BRK) looks set to become a very desirable employer, after its Board of Directors last summer decided that its representatives on the boards of the companies it has stakes in will be entitled to the full compensation packages they receive from the latter. "Broker" is not making any money from the management of the companies it has in its portfolio, even though its representatives serve on various Boards of Directors precisely because BRK holds significant stakes in those companies. "Broker" has people sitting on the Boards of 12 companies.

When asked by "BURSA" if the decision of the Board won"t mean that Broker Cluj will be missing out on a revenue stream, Anton Ionescu, the chairman of the Board of Directors said that he did take this aspect into account, but said that the decision was made due to technical and legal reasons. The chairman of "Broker" explained: "We made this decision because the articles of incorporation of Broker did not include serving on the Boards of Directors of the companies in its portfolio. Every company has certain lines of business, we do financial intermediation, we don"t manage other companies".

Usually, the members of the Boards of Directors receive wages that range from 1000 RON/month to several thousands, depending on the size and the profitability of the company that they serve with.

However, some companies that are experiencing difficulties do not pay any compensations.

"As a general rule, an individual may not serve on more than three Boards of Directors. Our representatives that serve on the boards of the companies that we have stakes in get to keep their full compensation packages. On the other hand though, they have to meet a series of requirements, such as representing the interest of Broker Cluj on the boards that they serve on, and reporting on the financial status of those companies", Anton Ionescu added.

"Broker" Cluj has a market capitalization of 75.5 million lei, according to the price of 0.263 lei/share registered in yesterday"s trading session. Ioan Carţiş holds 8.25% of the shares of BRK, "Intervalco" holds 5.21%, and SIF "Muntenia" owns 5.11% of the company, according to information on the website of "Broker" Cluj.

At the end of Q3 2010, "Broker" Cluj reported a net profit of 6.3 million lei, up from 4.9 million at the end of Q3 2009. The company"s net turnover saw a slight increase, from 2.47 million lei, to 2.56 million lei.