The Executive Board of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) decided to extend the period for selling shares in Energbank SA and Banca de Finanțe și Comerț SA for three months. The decision refers to the shareholders on which the National Bank earlier imposed penalties for non-observance of the requirements concerning bank shareholders, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the central bank.

By a decision of January 11, the NBM established that a group of shareholders work in concert in relation to Banca de Finanțe și Comerț SA. These bought and owned a considerable holding in the bank’s share capital, of 36.15%, without the prior written consent of the central bank. This way, provisions of the law on the activity of banks were violated. Consequently, the given shareholders were banned from exercising particular rights and are to sell the owned shares.

Also then, the NBM ascertained concerted activity, without its prior written consent, at Energbank SA. The Executive Board approved a decision to suspend the exercise of particular rights in relation to 52.77% of the shares. As a result, the involved shareholders are to sell the shares held in the given bank’s share capital. The central bank also imposed early intervention measures at the bank under the law on bank resolution given that the shareholding exceeds 50%. A part of the members of the bank’s executive and board will be replaced by temporary administrators named by the NBM.

Both Banca de Finanțe și Comerț and Energbank will continue to work as usual and to provide all the services. They are both capitalized, solvable and stable. Banca de Finanțe și Comerț accounts for 3.7% of the total assets of Moldova’s banking sector, while Energbank for 3.2%.

Similar measurers to suspend the rights of some of the shareholders were earlier taken at other Moldovan licensed banks, such as Moldova-Agroindbank and Moldindconbank.