Reff & Associates and Deloitte Romania assisted UniCredit Bank in the process of obtaining prior approval for the merger with Alpha Bank
A multidisciplinary team of lawyers specialized in financial and banking law from Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, and financial advisors, valuation, risk and regulatory experts, and auditors from Deloitte Romania, assisted UniCredit Bank in the process of obtaining prior approval from the National Bank of Romania (NBR) for the merger with Alpha Bank, completed in mid-August 2025. This involvement represented a natural extension of the services offered last year to UniCredit Italia in obtaining similar prior approval for the acquisition of more than 90% stake in Alpha Bank Romania.
Following the acquisition, the UniCredit Group has become one of the top three players on the Romanian banking market, with about 11% of the total assets in the Romanian banking system.
Within both projects, the members of the team involved coordinated the legal and business aspects related to the preparation and submission to the supervisory authority of the relevant documentation for the prior approval of the acquisition by UniCredit Italia of Alpha Bank Romania, respectively for the merger by absorption of the latter within UniCredit Bank S.A. The assistance provided covered the definition of the approval files strategy, the preparation of complex project management tools for both, the summarization in a centralized and user-friendly manner of the complete sets of documents and information required for approvals (mostly similar to the authorization of a new bank), as well as support in the preparation of the relevant legal and business documentation for each file, and also carrying out a mission based on agreed procedures on the financial forecasts, evaluation services and coordinating the collection and submission of relevant documentation.
"The quality and professionalism of the experts involved make any approach, no matter how complex, a success, and our collaboration with Reff & Associates and Deloitte Romania in this project proves it. Success is not just about actual results, but all the way towards them. The support and advice from Reff & Associates and Deloitte Romania’s colleagues were extremely valuable. And I say colleagues, because we were all part of a single team that made the impossible possible, at certain moments during the preparation of the approval files," said Diana Ciubotariu, Head of Legal, UniCredit Romania, who coordinated the legal aspects of the entire acquisition and merger process on behalf of UniCredit.
"The merger process was a complex one, which required careful coordination and multidisciplinary expertise. The collaboration with the Reff & Associates and Deloitte Romania team was excellent, their contribution being essential in the preparation of the file. We thank them for their professionalism and dedication," said Ani Cirstea, Head of Regulatory Affairs, UniCredit Romania, who coordinated the communication with the National Bank of Romania, on behalf of UniCredit.
The banking law team of Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal involved in the project included lawyers Andrei Burz-Pinzaru, Partner, Patricia Enache, Senior Managing Associate, who coordinated the entire project, Bogdan Vlad, Senior Associate, and Andrei Banescu, Associate. Deloitte Romania's financial advisory team consisted of Andrada Tanase, Partner, Marius Vasilescu, Partner, Laura Lica-Banu, Director, Raluca Anton, Senior Manager, Cristina Tache, Manager, Florin Iordanescu, Senior Consultant, as well as Andreea Micu, Senior Manager, Oana Ceban, Manager, Iulian Norocel and Victoria Tocan, Senior Consultants, and Lavinia Zaharia, Senior Associate . At the same time, the team of auditors made up of Claudiu Ghiurluc, Partner, and Laura Gheorghe, Senior Manager, Deloitte Romania, also contributed to the success of the project.
"The success of these proceedings underlines the importance of a common and consistent approach, which combines the meticulous legal analytical skills of the lawyers with the deep understanding of banking activities and the implications of such transactions, from the advisory and audit teams. Our ability to effectively manage this complex process together, while ensuring compliance with all legal requirements, has provided us with valuable insights and enriched our expertise in navigating the legal and regulatory challenges specific to this type of proceedings, predicting potential challenges and opportunities in an ever-evolving financial environment, which positions us favorably for future similar transactions in the Romanian and regional banking sector. We thank the UniCredit team for the opportunity to be part of this complex, challenging process, which offered us multiple professional satisfactions," said Andrei Burz-Pinzaru, Partner at Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, and Head of the Financial-Banking Department.
"For Deloitte, this project represented a new opportunity to highlight the value of an integrated approach, combining legal, risk and regulatory expertise and managing the critical stages of a complex transaction. We are glad to have supported UniCredit Bank in navigating a difficult legislative framework and in transforming this stage of the process into a key moment of its evolution. This success confirms, once again, Deloitte and Reff & Associates' commitment to supporting the sustainable development of the local banking market and the creation of long-term value for clients, in a constantly changing regulatory context. We thank the entire UniCredit team for their trust and excellent collaboration during the projects carried out together," said Andrada Tanase, Advisory Partner, Deloitte Romania and coordinator of the risk and regulatory advisory practice for financial institutions.
UniCredit Bank is part of UniCredit Group, a European commercial bank, offering services in Italy, Germany, Austria, Central and Eastern Europe. Following the merger with Alpha Bank, the UniCredit Group consolidated its position on the Romanian market, both in the corporate and retail segments, reaching 11% market share in assets, 13% in total loans (together with UniCredit Consumer Financing) and 11% in total customers deposits. UniCredit Bank has now more than 4,800 employees, a wide network of 900 ATMs and a network of approximately 300 branches, in optimal proximity to the customers, providing them with efficient access to a wide range of financial solutions.
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500® and thousands of private companies. The firm’s professionals deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets, enable clients to transform and thrive, and lead the way toward a stronger economy, a more equitable society and a sustainable world. Building on its 175-plus year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories. Its objective is to make an impact that matters through its approximately 460,000 people worldwide.
Deloitte Romania is one of the leading professional services organizations in the country providing, in cooperation with Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal, services in audit, tax, legal, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, business processes as well as technology services and other related services, through 3,200 professionals.
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Reff & Associates | Deloitte Legal is recognized as a leading law firm in Romania for the quality of services and ability to deliver solutions on complex legal matters. The areas of practice include banking and finance, competition, employment, energy and environment, insolvency, legal management consulting, litigation, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, public sector and real estate, as well as optimization of legal processes and the adoption of new technologies. The firm represents in Romania Deloitte Legal, a global network with more than 2,500 lawyers in 80 countries.
