BCR is the “Bank of the Year 2009” in Romania according to The Banker magazine

Erste Bank and Sparkassen and Ceska Sporitelna are the “Bank of the Year” in Austria and in the Czech Republic Bucharest, 03.12.09 - The international finance magazine "The Banker“, of the Financial Times Group, one of the world’s most respected publications, named Banca Comerciala Romana as “The Bank of the Year 2009”. The trophy was handed over to BCR representatives by the Chief editor Stephen Timewell during the Banker’s Awards Gal 2009 which took place in London on Thursday evening 03.12.2009.

BCR’s nomination as the best bank in Romania is based on the performance of BCR in 2008 as well as in 2009 in a very difficult economic environment the Banker’s Editor Brian Caplen says. "BCR's active approach to assisting customers manage their financing during the crisis helped the bank win market share. Efficient operations and good service quality have given the bank further momentum – the cost-to-income ratio fell by more than 15 percentage points in 2008," says The Banker's Editor Brian Caplen.

"The bank has also played a major role in accelerating the switch-over to electronic banking in Romania, and its strategic focus has not been derailed by the turbulent financial and economic conditions over the past year," adds Mr. Caplen. Commenting on the award Dominic Bruynseels, CEO of BCR says:

„In terms of challenges we have been through a perfect storm and come out the other side in good shape - the weather is still bad though! We kept our head in the Crisis and kept close to our customers - something we will need to do even more as the recession continues and hopefully recovery emerges. We have helped thousands of customers reconsider their plans and their financing requirements from us and tailored solutions for many to help them through. We remain regarded as the most trusted and leading Bank in the Romanian marketplace - something that the crisis only enhanced”.

Regarding BCR’s plans for the future Mr. Bruynseels underlines the customer oriented strategy of BCR as the leading bank in Romania. “Through the efforts of our colleagues to stay close to our customers and ensure we treat them fairly according to their condition in this difficult environment; to actively manage our credit risks and recoveries and finally to focus on the efficiency of our business and doing all this having the longer term interests of the business and of Romania as our guide” says Dominic Bruynseels.

It is pleasing to see that the Erste Group received a total of three awards this year: The Austrian “Erste Bank and Sparkassen” and the Czech “Ceska Sporitelna” were also awarded the title of “best bank” in their respective countries.

The distinction of “Bank of the Year in Romania” was awarded by a jury in which CEOs and managers of British companies, as well as several editors from “The Banker”, led by chief editor Stephen Timewell, were represented. "The Banker" is a London-based monthly magazine of the Financial Times

Group specializing in banking. It is particularly aimed at the uppermost management levels and financial experts. In banking circles, the magazine is thus considered one of the most important source of information on the banking sector, and its rankings are a recognized benchmark in international banking.

BCR, a member of the Erste Group, is a universal bank dedicated to both retail and corporate customers. BCR is the leading banking organization in Romania, managing assets worth of more than EUR 17.2 billion. BCR is the most valuable Romanian financial services brand. The bank is offering a full range of banking services having 659 retail branches and agencies (for individuals and micro corporations) located in most of the Romanian cities with a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants. The corporate customers are serviced in 50 corporate commercial centres dedicated exclusively to SMEs and big companies. The bank provides to both retail and corporate customers a complex offer of banking products and services, including Internet banking, phone banking and e-commerce services. BCR issues 25 types of debit and credit card, and is the owner of the largest national ATM and POS network – over 2,000 machines and over 17.000 electronic terminals operational at the merchants, for card payments. BCR is currently the most important financial Group in Romania, with operations both in Romania and abroad developed by its local branches, foreign banking subsidiaries and representative offices.

BCR is also holding top positions on the financial market segments for leasing, asset management, housing bank, equity and pension funds supported by its domestic subsidiaries.

Erste Group is one of the leading financial providers in CEE. More than 51.000 employees serve 17 million clients in 3,000 branches in 8 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine). As of 30 September 2009 Erste Group has reached EUR 203.6 billion in total assets, a net profit of EUR 720.1 million and cost-income-ratio of 50.9%.

For more information about the products and services provided by BCR:

· Call 0801.0801.227 (InfoBCR) on the fixed phone network, for a local tariff regardless of the country region where the call is placed; call 021/407.42.00 from any phone network or *0801227 using the Vodafone EasyDial service, Mondays through Sundays, between 8:00 and 22:00

· Send an e-mail message at contact.center@bcr.ro. Your enquiries are processed on a daily basis, and the available information in the Contact Center will be provided within a maximum of 24 hours from the receipt of your message.

· Call 021/311.10.01 and 021/311.02.16 for card assistance services, 24 h 7 days.

For more information:
BCR, Communications Division
Phone 312.00.56; Fax 313 0117
Corneliu Cojocaru, e-mail: cornel.cojocaru@bcr.ro
Cezar Marin, e-mail: cezar.marin@bcr.ro
Nicoleta Deliu, e-mail: nicoleta.deliu@bcr.ro