Moldova approves sale of Moldindconbank stake to foreign investor (updated)

Doverie United Holding AD

22/01/2019 16:36

(Adds quote, details, background)
    CHISINAU, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Moldova has approved the sale
of a 64 percent stake in its second-largest lender
Moldindconbank to Bulgarian fund DOVERIE United Holding
 5DOV.BB , the central bank said on Tuesday. 
    Moldindconbank will be the third major bank sold to a
foreign investor as part of a clean-up of the banking system,
backed by the International Monetary Fund and other donors,
after a $1 billion fraud shook the economy.
    DOVERIE United Holding was not immediately available for
comment.  
    Selling Moldindconbank will help Moldova meet the terms of
its IMF programme, which requires making bank ownership more
transparent.
    The central bank said it "considers the potential investor's
intention as a notable opportunity to develop Moldindconbank on
a long-term basis and to increase the competitiveness and
quality of services offered to its clients."
    In October, a consortium led by the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development bought a 41 percent stake in
Moldova's largest lender, Moldova-Agroindbank.
    The authorities have worked to restore faith in the
financial system after Moldova was plunged into crisis in
2014-2015 following the disappearance of $1 billion from three
banks with opaque ownership structures.
    Known locally as the "theft of the century", the scandal
triggered street protests, the IMF and the European Union froze
aid, the leu currency plunged to record lows and inflation
climbed to double digits.

 (Reporting by Matthias Williams and Alexaner Tanas
Additional reporting from Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia:
Editing by Edmund Blair)
 ((matthias.williams@thomsonreuters.com;))