History

1990 – Banca Comerciala Romana is established by taking over the commercial operations of the National Bank of Romania
1998 – BCR opens a subsidiary in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova
1999 – BCR absorbs Bancorex
2001 – BCR Leasing is launched on the Romanian market
2003 – BCR privatization by selling the block of shares to EBRD and IFC
2005 - BCR Asigurari de viata is established
2006 – Austrian bank Erste Bank finalizes the acquisition of Banca Comerciala Romana. Erste Bank bought 61.8825%* of the BCR shares from the Romanian Government, EBRD and IFC, paying EUR 3.75 billion.
2007 – BCR Administrare Fond de Pensii enters the Romanian market
2008 – Banca Comerciala Romana sells its insurance operations to Vienna Insurance Group
2008 – BCR Banca pentru Locuinte enters the Romanian market
2009 – BCR adopts a Medium Term Notes (MTN) issuing program – with a total value of EUR 3 billion.
Over time, BCR has brought several novelties on the Romanian banking market, including:
1994 - BCR becomes the first acquirer in Romania and main member of EUROPAY
1995 - BCR issues the first debit cards in Romania under an international logo.
- first transaction at an ATM in Romania
2000 - BCR launches the first treasury loan for individuals
- BCR is the first bank in Romania to trade securities on the secondary market
2002 - BCR launches the first mortgage loan on the Romanian banking market
2003 - BCR is the first Romanian bank to provide mortgage loans to retail and corporate customers.
2004 - BCR is the first bank in Romania to install Currency Exchange Machines (CEM)
2005 - BCR enables the use of CHIP cards (smart-card) in its ATM and POS network.
2006 - Banca Comerciala Romana launches for the first time, through the BCR University, the internship program – STUDENT BCR – allowing students to take internships in seven BCR branches in Bucharest
- BCR is the first banking institution in Romania to launch a national network of specialized offices – “EU Office BCR” – dedicated exclusively to European funds