Moldova’s central bank board decided on October 12 to defer for another three months the sale of the 64% stake in the country’s second-largest bank Moldindconbank, a central bank note announced on October 16. 

This comes after a 42% stake in the country’s largest bank Agroindbank was purchased by a consortium led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), while Romania's Banca Transilvania acquired a significant stake in the country’s third-largest bank Victoriabank.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) singled out MICB, which has lacked proper ownership since October 2016, in the third review of the agreements with Moldova. 

The 64% stake had been confiscated from shareholders that operated in a coordinated way without proper disclosure. Reportedly, Veaceslav Platon (currently in jail for bank-related frauds) was behind the group of coordinated shareholders.

Shareholders had been given the chance to find a buyer for their shares themselves, but all their attempts failed.

The shares of the bank were put up for sale on the local stock exchange on July 3-17 at a price of MDL760mn (€38.2mn) but there were no interested bidders. Other attempts to sell the shares had been made previously.

The price for the 63.9% stake in MICB seems low compared to the MDL766mn paid by Romania’s Banca Transilvania for 39.2% of Moldova’s third-largest bank Victoriabank, Mold Street commented.

The central bank also extended the term of appointment of the temporary administration by three months, as of July 20. The temporary administration of the bank takes place in the context of an early intervention regime established as a result of concerted activity of a group of people who purchased a qualifying holding in the bank's share capital amounting to 63.89%, without the prior written permission of the central bank.