What CEC Bank does

CEC Bank is Romania's oldest banking institution, founded in 1864 as Casa de Depuneri and operating today as a state-owned universal bank headquartered in Bucharest under the legal name CEC BANK S.A. The bank serves retail individuals, small and medium enterprises (IMM and liberal professions), the agricultural sector, and local public administration authorities (UAT) through a network of over 1,000 branches nationwide complemented by Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, and phone banking channels.

The product portfolio spans personal loans (with online origination at a fixed 6.99% interest rate for salary-direct-deposit customers), mortgages, credit and debit cards, term deposits, and bundled account packages for retail; working capital credits, investment loans, revolving credit lines, bank guarantee letters, factoring, and letters of credit for businesses; plus specialized agricultural microfinance up to 500,000 lei and APIA subsidy bridge financing for farmers. Technology infrastructure includes a PSD2-compliant Open Banking API with sandbox and production developer portals, integration with nine other Romanian banks for account aggregation, mobile POS (SmartPhone POS), video-call digital onboarding, biometric authentication, and the RoPay instant mobile payments service via TRANSFOND.

The bank operates primarily on net interest income and commission-based revenue from lending, deposit spreads, account package subscriptions, and transactional fees, with SME packages priced at 59-239 lei per month and guarantee letters at 0.25% per quarter issuance commission. Distribution combines direct branch sales supported by relationship managers and self-service digital channels, with participation in national financing programs (IMM Invest, Start-Up Nation, Femeia Antreprenor) and EU-backed SME and public-sector lending via EIB co-financing. Recent strategic activity includes a nationwide Creatio agentic CRM rollout to 4,000 users, multiple new product launches in payments and instant settlements, and a syndicated energy infrastructure financing deal.

Name

CEC Bank

Legal name

CEC BANK S.A.

Website

https://cec.ro

Company type

Private

Founded year

1864

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

CEC Bank is Romania's oldest state-owned universal bank, founded in 1864, serving retail, SME, agriculture, and public administration customers through 1,000+ branches and digital banking channels nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail and Commercial Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211), Commercial Banking (522110)

SIC

State Commercial Banks (6022), National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector Retail Banks (State-Owned Commercial Banks) (FSABAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mass-Market Consumer Deposit Banking (Checking/Savings) (FSABAAAA)

Keywords

• Retail banking services
• Commercial lending
• Agricultural financing
• Trade finance
• Digital banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Bucharest

HQ country

Romania

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Interest Income: Primary revenue from interest charged on lending products including personal loans, mortgages, business credits, agricultural financing, and credit lines. Interest rates vary by product type and customer profile.
2. Commission Income: Fees from account management packages, transaction processing, letters of guarantee issuance, documentary credits, factoring services, and trade finance operations.
3. Deposit Interest Spreads: Revenue generated from spread between interest paid to depositors and interest earned from lending activities. Deposits include term deposits in lei and foreign currency for individuals and businesses.
4. Digital Banking Services: Revenue from digital banking service subscriptions including Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, and premium account packages with various service inclusions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CEC Bank is a Romanian state-owned bank founded in 1864. It provides retail and business banking services, including consumer lending, deposits, business finance, agricultural financing, and financing for public administration.

Product overview

CEC Bank is Romania's largest state-owned financial institution (150+ years of history) offering a comprehensive banking product portfolio structured around personal banking, business/SME banking, agricultural financing, trade finance, and public administration financing. The core product line includes personal credit products (personal loans, mortgages, credit cards), deposit and savings products, and a full suite of digital banking services (Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, Open Banking). Business offerings encompass working capital and investment credits, revolving credit lines, bank guarantee letters, factoring, letters of credit, and SME-dedicated account packages (IMM Optim, IMM Business, IMM Premium). Agricultural financing covers microfinance AGRO loans up to 500,000 lei with state guarantees, APIA bridge financing, and agricultural land purchase loans. The bank also provides trade finance solutions (factoring, letters of credit, guarantee letters), EU fund access programs (Start-Up Nation, Femeia Antreprenor, SME Eco-Tech), and public administration credits (UAT) co-financed by the EIB. Key recent product launches include the Creatio agentic CRM platform (April 2026), Cash2Card cash deposit service (August 2026), Instant Euro Collections (July 2026), and RoPay mobile payments — all representing the bank's digital transformation program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RoPay: Mobile payments service for instant payments and collections using mobile phone.

Products and services

• Personal Needs Loan (Credit de Nevoi Personale) A personal loan product for individual customers' financing needs.
• Mortgage Loan (Credit Ipotecar) A mortgage loan product for individual customers.
• Credit Cards (Carduri de Credit) Credit card products for cardholders.
• Foreign Currency Term Deposits (Depozite în Valută la Termen) Term-deposit products denominated in foreign currency.
• Business Working Capital Credit (Credit pentru Activitatea Curentă) A credit product for financing a business customer's current activity.
• Bank Guarantee Letters (Scrisori de Garanție Bancară) Bank-issued guarantee-letter services for business customers.
• Factoring A receivables-financing service for business customers.
• Letters of Credit (Acreditive) Trade-finance instruments for business customers.
• AGRO Microfinance for Agriculture (Credite AGRO Micro-finanțări pentru Agricultură) A microfinance credit product for agricultural customers.
• APIA Loans (Credite APIA) Loans for agricultural customers through the APIA national program.
• Start-Up Nation Program Financing (Finanțare prin Programul Start-Up Nation) Financing delivered through the Start-Up Nation national program.
• Femeia Antreprenor Program Financing (Finanțare prin Programul Femeia Antreprenor) Financing delivered through the Femeia Antreprenor national program.
• SME Eco-Tech Loans (Credite SME Eco-Tech pentru IMM) Credit for SMEs through the SME Eco-Tech program.
• Local Administrative-Territorial Unit Financing (Finanțări pentru UAT-uri) Financing for local administrative-territorial units.
• EIB Public Sector Financing (Finanțare pentru Sectorul Public cu BEI) Public-sector financing delivered with BEI.
• Tiered IMM Account Packages (Pachete de Conturi IMM) Tiered IMM account packages comprising IMM Optim, IMM Business, and IMM Premium.
• Open Banking Service An API-based service supporting Open Banking integrations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,000 users onboarded to unified CRM platform as part of digital transformation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration20 records

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FintechOScoreTechnology or Integration · 30 June 2026FintechOS provides AI-powered digitalization solutions and banking infrastructure for CEC Bank, enabling digital lending and banking products. FintechOS has deepened its presence with CEC Bank among key European partnerships.
• FintechOScoreTechnology or Integration · 21 October 2025CEC Bank is a key customer scaling use of FintechOS platform for digital lending and insurance products as part of digital transformation initiatives.
• TRANSFONDcoreTechnology or IntegrationTRANSFOND operates the RoPay (Mobile Payments System) and SANB (Beneficiary Name Display Service) in collaboration with CEC Bank for instant payment services using mobile phone numbers.
• CreatiocoreTechnology or IntegrationCreatio provided its unified agentic CRM platform for CEC Bank's digital transformation, rolled out to over 4,000 users across the organization for consolidated customer interaction management.
• SelfPayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSelfPay payment stations integrated as payment channel for CEC Bank customers to pay bills and other services.
• FinZoom.rominorGTM or Marketing PartnerCEC Bank partnered with FinZoom.ro comparator for conducting market surveys on Romanian vacation preferences and banking habits.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Libra Internet Bank: Romanian SME-focused commercial bank offering digital banking and lending; directly comparable to CEC's SME/IMM product set and part of CEC's Open Banking network.
• Banca Transilvania: Largest Romanian commercial bank by assets; competes head-to-head with CEC Bank across retail, SME, and agricultural segments, and is among the nine banks integrated into CEC's Open Banking platform.
• BCR (Banca Comercială Română): Erste Group subsidiary and one of Romania's largest universal banks; directly comparable to CEC across retail, SME, corporate, and public-sector financing, and an Open Banking integration partner.
• Exim Banca Românească: Romanian state-owned export-import bank; co-lender with CEC on syndicated infrastructure financing (e.g., SAPE cogeneration project) and shares CEC's mandate-driven, state-owned character.
• BRD Groupe Société Générale: Top-three Romanian bank (Société Générale subsidiary) offering retail, SME, and corporate banking; competes directly with CEC in the same customer segments and is part of CEC's Open Banking network.
• Alpha Bank România: Greek-owned commercial bank offering retail, SME, and corporate services in Romania; directly comparable to CEC's SME and corporate lending franchise, and an Open Banking integration partner.
• Raiffeisen Bank România: Major Austrian-owned universal bank in Romania with retail, SME, and corporate lending; comparable product breadth to CEC, including agricultural and EU-funded program lending.
• UniCredit Bank România: UniCredit subsidiary offering universal banking services in Romania; directly competes for SME, corporate, and retail customers, and is integrated into CEC's Open Banking aggregation.
• ING Bank România: Major digital-first foreign-owned bank in Romania with strong retail and SME presence; competes with CEC for digitally-engaged retail customers and is an Open Banking integration partner.
• ProCredit Bank România: German-owned bank with strong SME and agricultural lending franchise in Romania; competes with CEC in agricultural financing, EU-program lending, and SME banking, and is a parallel FintechOS client.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cecbank
• Xx.com/cecbank_ro
• Facebookfacebook.com/cecbank

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CEC Bank