President (VOLKSBANK ROMANIA)

First, would you like to tell us briefly about the background and history of Volksbank Romania?

Volksbank Romania was a Greenfield bank established in year 2000. The first three years stood for the research period of the company. There was a very slow growth. During 2003 and 2004 we did the due diligence on how to reach a five percent market share. In banking this is usually seen as a crucial market share to sustain long term profitability and productivity of the bank. There was the due diligence on either purchasing a bank or using the market opportunities to grow on operational activity. If you take a look into the history ...