CEC Bank (prior to May 6, 2008 Casa de Economii și Consemnațiuni, but already known then as ''CEC''),
[Timeline – Continuation]
, cec.ro (CEC Bank). Accessed 13 June 2012. is a state-owned
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n banking institution.
[CEC Bank, majorare de capital de 55 mil. euro]
originally published in the Romanian ''Business Standard'', 29 July 2009. Accessed 12 June 2012 on money.ro.[Despre CEC Bank – Tabel cronologic]
, cec.ro. Accessed 12 June 2012.
In 1990, shortly after the
Romanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...
, CEC had a 32.9% share of the Romanian market for banking; by 2006 this had fallen to 4.03%.
[ Radu Ghețea]
CEC Bank: Solvabilitatea băncii depășește 18%
, originally published in the Romanian ''Business Standard'', 24 November 2009. Accessed 12 June 2012 on money.ro. At the end of 2009, CEC Bank had 1,351 branches, more than 800 of which were in rural Romania, many with only one or two employees.
originally from ''Mediafax'', 7 February 2010. Accessed 12 June 2012 on money.ro. As of August 2009, the bank had 2.7 million customers.
[ Anca Toma]
5 August 2009, money.ro. Accessed 12 June 2012.
History
CEC was founded in 1864—five years after the union of the two
Danubian Principalities
The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th c ...
, and more than a decade before the Romanian state as such—as the Casa de Depuneri și Consemnațiuni
(literally "Deposits and Consignments House"
[Timeline]
cec.ro (CEC Bank). Accessed 13 June 2012. but effectively "Deposits and Consignments Bank": the Romanian ''casa'' is used analogously to the French ''caisse''; both are related to the English ''cash''). In 1880, the name was changed to Casa de Depuneri, Consemnațiuni și Economie
("Deposits, Consignments and Savings House").
In 1881, the financially independent ''Casa de Economie'' ("Savings Bank"), was set up under its aegis.
![Cladirea CEC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Cladirea_CEC.jpg)
In 1887, the cornerstone of the
CEC Palace
The CEC Palace ( ro, Palatul CEC) in Bucharest, Romania, built between 8 June 1897 and 1900, and situated on Calea Victoriei opposite the National Museum of Romanian History, is the headquarters of CEC Bank.
History
Before the construction of ...
was set; the building opened as the bank's headquarters in 1900.
As of 2012, CEC Bank is still headquartered there, although the building has been sold to the municipality of Bucharest for an eventual museum; CEC Bank is leasing the building until they build or otherwise obtain an appropriate modern headquarters.
Romania entered World War One belatedly on the
Allied or ''Entente'' side, and was largely overrun by the forces of the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...
. A portion of the bank's management remained in occupied Bucharest, while another portion relocated to
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
, in Northeast Romania. Prime minister
Ion I. C. Brătianu
Ion Ionel Constantin Brătianu (, also known as Ionel Brătianu; 20 August 1864 – 24 November 1927) was a Romanian politician, leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), Prime Minister of Romania for five terms, and Foreign Minister on se ...
decided to send the Bank's treasury, as well as other assets including the treasury of the
National Bank of Romania
The National Bank of Romania ( ro, Banca Națională a României, BNR) is the central bank of Romania and was established in April 1880. Its headquarters are located in the capital city of Bucharest.
The National Bank of Romania is responsible ...
, to Iași and later to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
![Casa de depunderi si consemnatiuni](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Casa_de_depunderi_si_consemnatiuni.jpg)
In 1930, the ''Casa de Economie'' was spun off as an institution in its own right, the Casa Generala de Economii ("General Savings House" or "General Savings Bank"), which in 1932 became the Casa Naționala de Economii si Cecuri Postale ("Savings and Postal Cheques National House", "National Bank for Savings and Postal Cheques", etc.). The two entities were joined back together at the start of the Communist era, in 1948.
[Despre CEC Bank – Tabel cronologic – Continuare]
, cec.ro. Accessed 14 June 2012.
In Communist Romania, CEC created a number of types of accounts, including passbook savings accounts with various combinations of interest and prizes, and opened branches throughout Romania. From 1970 to 1985, CEC made housing loans as well. After the 1989 revolution, CEC began activities such as granting loans to other banks and dealing in government securities. In 1996, Law No. 66 reorganized CEC as a joint-stock company with the Finance Ministry as its sole shareholder. Beginning in 2005, moves were made toward
privatization
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
.
A 2006 attempt at privatization was cut short when the government was dissatisfied with the bids. The possibility of privatization has been in play as recently as January 2011.
CEC Bank needs funds, privatisation seen likely
financiare.ro, 11 January 2011. Accessed 14 June 2012.
Notes
External links
*
*
English-language portion of site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cec Bank
Banks of Romania
Companies based in Bucharest
Banks established in 1865
Romanian brands