Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA) has signed the closing contract with Sarajevo Privatisation Venture (SPV) and is now the majority owner of Central Profit Banka (CPB). SPV is a joint venture of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina, and BP Invest Consult, an international consultancy firm. The agreement to purchase CPB was signed in June this year, when it was also agreed that the hat die BA-CaIFC would acquire a direct interest of IFC 19% in Central Profit Bankahalten . BA-CA intends to make an offer to minority shareholders currently holding 4.5%. On completion, BA-CA will own up to 81% of CPB. Furthermore, CPB signed a loan agreement with the IFC for a €10mn long-term credit line.

“Die BA-CA Anteil beträgt dadurch 81 Prozent (

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With the purchase of Central Profit Banka we are going to be the third largest bank in the Bosnia-Herzegovinian market. This will further enhance and underline our top position in South-East Europe,” says Anton Knett, general manager for Southeast Europe at Bank Austria Creditanstalt. “We will merge CPB with our existing operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, HVB Bank by using our proven IT platform. This process should be accomplished in the third quarter 2004. We will then be able to offer an even wider range of products to both retail and corporate clients. ”

 

Together, the BA-CA subsidiary HVB Bank and CPB will have total assets of €221mn, 30 branches, more than 60,000 customers and a 7.4% market share. “Our aim is to be a strong, undisputed number 3 on the market,” says Knett. Through its international know-how, BA-CA offers its corporate customers easy access to EU markets. For retail customers, the bank has state-of-the-art products. CPB and HVB Bank plan to open four additional branches this year. Then the two banks will operate a truly country-wide network, maintaining a presence in the federation as well as in Serbia. The bank holds a top position in several areas: it is the number one in payment services and one of the leading banks in the credit card sector.

Bank Austria Creditanstalt has already set up a banking subsidiary, HVB Bank Bosna i Herzcegovina, in September 2002 which is focussing on private banking and international corporate customers. At present, HVB Bank has two branches in Sarajevo and Mostar and is about to open a second branch in Sarajevo as well as a branch in Banja Luka.