The listing of BCR will depend on the liquidity of the stock market

Two years after the expiration of the initial deadline for the listing of BCR on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the management of the bank remains cagey about the moment when it would begin at least the preparations for the listing of the bank, claiming that it is waiting for a auspicious market conditions". Yesterday, Dominic Bruynseels, the CEO of BCR, hinted that even though the current liquidity of the Bucharest Stock Exchange is rising after the listing of the Proprietatea Fund, it is still not enough to convince the bank"s shareholders to set a definitive deadline for the bringing BCR on the Stock Exchange.

"BCR will be listed when the necessary market conditions will be met", Dominic Bruynseels said yesterday, reusing his standard answer, and he added: "the liquidity of the Bucharest Stock Exchange should increase significantly for us to get the bank listed. In that way, BCR could be evaluated at its true value, and shareholders would be happy".

Two years ago, officials of BCR"s majority shareholder Erste, and the financial investment companies (SIF), which together hold 30% of the stock, agreed to delay the listing of the bank by at least two years, invoking unfavorable market conditions.

The head of BCR doesn"t seem concerned about the fact that the 2-year term will expire this year, and instead said that "any deadline for the listing of the bank will be agreed upon with the SIFs".

Last year, there were rumors that certain SIFs actually tried to sell to "Erste" one percent each of their stake in BCR, but the talks yielded no concrete results. Dominic Bruynseels yesterday declined to confirm or deny these rumors, saying he did not want to "comment on rumors about the intentions of third parties".

On Wednesday, in the General Shareholder Meeting, the shareholders of BCR approved the Revenue and Expense Budget for 2011.

BCR expects to make a profit of 250 million lei this year, according to the Romanian Accounting Standards (RAS), Mediafax states. However, based on the International Accounting Standards, the bank"s estimated profit for 2011 is expected to reach 927 million lei.

The bank"s shareholders are set to meet again in April, to approve the bank"s financial statements for 2010, and they will also decide whether the bank will pay a dividend in 2010.

Last year, the shareholders of BCR decided to increase the bank"s share capital by about 237 million lei.