The owner of Adriatic Bank A.D. Podgorica acquired 100 percent of the shares and thus became the owner of Expobank A.D. Belgrade, Bloomberg Adria learned exclusively.
“The transaction represents a natural step towards expanding the successful business of Adriatic Bank A.D. Podgorica, which records continuous growth after the change of ownership in 2020,” the bank’s announcement states.
“Adriatic Bank A.D. Podgorica in terms of assets currently ranks fifth as the youngest bank on the Montenegrin market. The Bank’s financial stability is based on profitable operations and liquidity indicators that are among the highest in the system, and smooth growth is continuously supported by the owner through additional capital , as well as through the retention of realized profits. Business experience and achieved success in Montenegro will represent a good basis for positive changes in Expobank A.D. Belgrade. The new management, with rich experience in the financial sector, will, by integrating its knowledge into the business strategy, create the foundations of a reputable, reliable , well-controlled and profitable banks,” the bank added.
The bank stated that it will base its orientation towards the client on a development strategy from narrowly specialized private banking to financing of corporate, SME clients and individuals.
The companies KPMG Belgrade participated as advisors in the transaction, while the legal advisors were Moravčević Vojnović and partners in cooperation with Schoenherr.
Since its establishment, Expobank was known as Centrobank a.d. Belgrade, while in 2006 it changed its name to Laiki bank a.d. Two years after that, the company started operating under the name Marfin Bank JSC, only to be delisted from the Belgrade Stock Exchange in 2017 after it was bought by the Czech Expobanka.
Medium-sized banks
Today’s announcement states that Adriatic Bank is the fifth largest bank in Montenegro in terms of assets.
“The business experience and achieved success in Montenegro will represent a good basis for positive changes in Expobank A.D. Beograd. The new management, with rich experience in the financial sector, will, by integrating its knowledge into the business strategy, create the foundations of a reputable, reliable, well-controlled and profitable bank.” , the company said.
As for Expobanka, according to the latest available data (from 2021) from the Business Register Agency, it was the 22nd largest in Serbia in terms of assets, and accounted for 0.35 percent of the total assets of the banking sector.
According to data from the National Bank of Serbia, Expobank has four branches in Serbia in Belgrade, Niš, Čačak and Šabac, while there are counters at another additional address in Belgrade and Novi Sad.
The registry of the central monetary institution of Montenegro shows that Adriatic Bank has branches in Budva, Podgorica and Tivat.
According to the latest data available in the NBS register (updated quarterly), the largest shareholders of Expobanka were Russian citizens Igor Kim and German Tsoy. Kim appeared in the Serbian media for the first time in 2014 when he was mentioned as a possible buyer of Hipo banka, and he was on the Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people several times.
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