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 is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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 The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

of 1989, 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.
originally from ''

Mediafax Mediafax () is a Romanian media company headquartered in Bucharest and founded in 1991 as the first undertaking of the MediaPro Group. Its lines of business include news, photography, and business information services. The company's ''Mediafax Bu ...

'', 7 February 2010. Accessed 12 June 2012 on money.ro. After 2017 CEC began a protracted modernization process and as of January 2024, it had grown back to third-largest bank in Romania. Claudia Medrega
Schimbări surpriză la vârful topului băncilor mari. Banca de stat CEC Bank urcă surprinzător pe podium pe locul 3 în topul celor mai mari bănci după active în 2023, depăşind BRD, care coboară pe 4. În 2022, CEC Bank ocupa locul 6 în top
20 March 2024, zf.ro. Accessed 20 March 2024.

History

CEC was founded in 1864—five years after the union of the two Danubian Principalities, 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

In 1887, the cornerstone of the

CEC Palace The CEC Palace () 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 the palace, the l ...

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 I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

(see ''

Romania in World War I The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allies of World War I, Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Powers, Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest (1918), ...

''). A portion of the bank's management remained in occupied Bucharest, while another portion relocated to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, in Northeast Romania. Prime minister Ion I. C. Brătianu decided to send the Bank's treasury, as well as other assets including the treasury of the National Bank of Romania, to Iași and later to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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 Națională de Economii și Cecuri Poștale ("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 the main retail institution collecting household deposits and placing them into government-issued assets while being also involved in housing finance, similarly as DSK in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, OTP in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and PKO in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It 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 (rendered 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 w ...

. A 2006 attempt at privatization was cut short when the government was dissatisfied with the bids. The possibility of privatization was in play again in January 2011.CEC Bank needs funds, privatisation seen likely
financiare.ro, 11 January 2011. Accessed 14 June 2012.

Notes

External links

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English-language portion of site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cec Bank Banks of Romania Companies based in Bucharest Banks established in 1865 Romanian brands