Bank Austria Creditanstalt, which is part HVB Bank, signed an agreement to merge HVB Bank Romania with Bucharest-based Banca Tiriac. No fina...

Bank Austria Creditanstalt, which is part HVB Bank, signed an agreement to merge HVB Bank Romania with Bucharest-based Banca Tiriac. No financial details of the deal were available. Bank Austria said in a statement that it plans to target affluent Romanians and develop a private banking franchise. The merger will be completed by the end of the year and is subject to approval by all relevant authorities. By summer, the two banks will work out a detailed plan for the integration of the Romanian operations, the statement said. The new bank, will have assets totaling €2.08 billion ($2.54 billion), becoming the fourth largest Romanian bank, with a market share of 7.5 per cent. HVB Bank was recently acquired by Italy’s Unicredito, which has created one of the biggest banking groups in Europe. The new bank is keen to target Eastern Europe’s growing affluent investors.