Intesa Sanpaolo has successfully completed the acquisition of the Romanian group First Bank S.A. (Romania) from the US-based private investment fund J.C. Flowers & Co. Following the signing, on October 28, 2023, by Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. and JCF Tiger Holdings S.A.R.L., the majority shareholder of First Bank S.A., of a sale-purchase agreement for the acquisition of 99.980513% of the shares of First Bank S.A. and after obtaining all necessary approvals from all relevant regulatory authorities, Intesa Sanpaolo has today completed the acquisition of First Bank. The acquisition of First Bank allows Intesa Sanpaolo to double its presence in Romania, a country in which it has been active since 1996 through Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania. The acquisition significantly strengthens the competitive positioning of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group on the local market, including it in the top 10 banks in Romania. Together, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania and First Bank total assets of approximately 3.2 billion euros, serve approximately 143,000 customers and have over 1,500 employees. The two banks – First Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania – are now part of the Group’s International Subsidiary Banks Division, a key player in the Central and Eastern Europe region, offering services to retail, corporate and SME customers. Marco Elio Rottigni, Head of the Group’s International Subsidiary Banking Division, said: “We warmly welcome First Bank employees and customers to the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, one of the largest and strongest banking groups in Europe. Consolidating our presence in Romania will stimulate Italian and foreign investments in this country, intensify trade and support the internationalization of SMEs. Our development will stimulate innovation at the economic level, for the benefit of individuals and legal entities”.
Plastic surgeon Tiberiu Paul Neagu, head of the Burns Center at Floreasca Hospital, one of the major hospitals in Bucharest, was dismissed on Monday, August 4, after a patient was transferred to Belgium following multiple multi-resistant hospital-acquired infections. The scandal broke out when a patient with burns over 70% of her body, who had been […]
The Buzău Land/Ținutul Buzăului UNESCO Global Geopark has received high praise from evaluators following a three-day official visit aimed at assessing its progress and determining whether the site will retain its UNESCO geopark status. The visit, conducted in June by Goran Radonic (Croatia) and Iván Cortijo Sánchez (Spain), concluded with positive feedback for the geopark […]
One United Properties (BVB: ONE), a publicly listed developer that has so far been focused on Bucharest, announced the signing of a promissory sale and purchase agreement for land located in a prime central area of Sibiu. The site, located on the former FLARO industrial platform, offers significant potential for urban regeneration, according to company […]
Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office announced the reclassification of the charges brought against former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu from instigator to accomplice in the “commission of actions against the constitutional order.” The statement published Monday, August 4, by the General Prosecutor’s Office does not name Georgescu directly, but refers both to the case in which the […]
Roughly 130,000 cartridges prepared for delivery were destroyed after a fire broke out at a warehouse part of the Cugir Mechanical Plant, in central Romania, on Saturday, August 2. No victims were reported, and an investigation is currently ongoing. The fire started around 2 AM, initially over an area of 300 square meters, which later […]
Uber and Bolt, the two alternative transportation platforms that dominate the Romanian market, have together registered over 100,000 affiliated drivers by the end of May 2025, according to official data from the Romanian Road Authority (ARR) reported at the request of Ziarul Financiar. The drivers who...
