Govt freezes privatisation of Moldova’s last parastatal bank

Finance Minister Mihai Pop said Moldova’s authorities are not currently considering holding a new tender competition to evaluate the Savings Bank, while negotiations with the consulting firm Deloytte&Touche have been frozen since October. When asked about the Government’s current plans for the privatisation of the Savings Bank, Pop said the Government has always wanted the Bank to go private, but in optimal conditions, adding that it remains now to be seen when these conditions are expected to occur. At the same time, the Minister mentioned that this issue could be discussed with the International Monetary Fund’s mission in December. Mihai Pop suggested that until the privatisation tender for Moldova’s Savings Bank is announced, the Government will expect concerned companies to make their offers. Earlier this week the Austrian group Raiffeisen has said it is closely watching how the situation concerning the privatisation of the Savings Bank is developing, yet it is not currently in negotiations with the Government for a potential take-over. Raiffeisen International holds the most extensive banking network in the Central and Eastern Europe. According to the Memorandum on economic and financial policies, the assessment of the Savings Bank was due to end in 2007, but the privatisation process was suspended when the Deloytte&Touche company, the winner of the bank’s assessment tender, showed its interest in mediating the privatisation process of the Moldovan bank.