The
Italian bank, Banca Intesa, announced at the
end of February 2005 that it had signed an agreement
to acquire a majority stake of 75% in the Serbian
bank, Delta Banka, in a deal worth 277.5 million
euros.
Under the agreement, Banca Intesa will have
the possibility to increase its holding to 100%
in the future. Delta Banka, the second largest
bank in Serbia, has a network of 144 branches
and more than 400,000 customers. This acquisition
is part of Banca Intesa's Central and Eastern
European expansion strategy, which it launched
in 1979 with the acquisition of the Hungarian
bank, Central-European International Bank (CIB).
It subsequently acquired the Croatian bank Privredna
Banka Zagreb (PBZ) in 2000 and the Slovak bank
Vseobecna Uverova Banka (VUB) in 2001.
Banca Intesa is also present in the Czech Republic
via VUB, in Slovenia through its subsidiary
Banca Popolare FriulAdria, and in Russia with
ZAO Banca Intesa. Once the purchase of Delta
Bank has been completed, Banca Intesa will have
3.5 million customers in Eastern Europe and
a network of 650 branches.
The transaction is due to be finalised at the
end of the second quarter 2005, once the relevant
authorities have given the green light.
