First Bank (Romania)

First Bank is a Romanian bank founded in 1995 as Pater Bank. Since May 2024, the financial institution has been controlled by the Italian group Intesa Sanpaolo.

First Bank

Formerly	Piraeus Bank Romania (2000-2018) Pater Bank (1995-2000)
Company type	Societate pe Acțiuni (S.A.)
Industry	Financial services
Founded	May 3, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-05-03)
Headquarters	Bucharest , Romania
Area served	Romania
Key people	Henk Paardekooper (CEO)
Owner	Independent (1995–2000) Piraeus Bank (2000–2018) J.C. Flowers & Co. (2018–2024) Intesa Sanpaolo (2024–present)
Number of employees	959 (2023)
Website	firstbank.ro

History

Five years after it was founded, Pater Bank was sold in 2000 to Piraeus Bank,^[1] and its name was changed to reflect its new owner. Piraeus Bank sold its Romanian subsidiary to J.C. Flowers & Co. on 28 June 2018, who changed the bank's name to First Bank on 12 September 2018.^[2]

As of the following month, its shareholding structure became as follows:^[3]

• J.C. Flowers & Co. - 76.1%
• EBRD - 19%
• Natural persons - 4.9%

In April 2020, First Bank acquired and absorbed the Romanian subsidiary of Bank Leumi.^[1] In May 2024, the bank was acquired by the Italian group Intesa Sanpaolo.

See also

• Banks portal

• List of banks in Romania
• J.C. Flowers & Co.