Moldova’s central bank has approved the request of Romania’s Banca Transilvania to take over 100% of Moldova’s third-largest bank Victoriabank, Mold Street daily reported. A similar permission has already been issued for VB Investment Holding BV, a vehicle of the European bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which owns 27.6% of Victoriabank already.

This will be the first time a foreign bank investor has entered the Moldovan market since 2007.

Banca Transilvania is in negotiations to take over a 39.2% stake in Victoriabank from Cyprus-based Insidown — a firm officially controlled by Russian investor Sergey Lobanov but allegedly under the control of Moldova’s ruling coalition leader Vlad Plahotniuc. Insidown was previously fined by Moldova’s central bank under the tightened ownership disclosure requirements, and decided to sell its stake.

Banca Transilvania and the EBRD are likely to be seen as coordinated group of shareholders in Victoriabank, since they expressed such plans and furthermore EBRD is a shareholder of Banca Transilvania. The other shareholders in Victoriabank, besides the EBRD and Insidown, are individual investors mostly among the bank’s management.

Banca Transilvania confirmed on November 8 its plans to acquire an initial stake of over 39.2% in Victoriabank. The EBRD increased its stake to 27.6% last year in a move to restore effective corporate governance and attract a strong strategic investor to Victoriabank.