Access Investments-European Union- ROMANIA

Slovak group Slavia Capital, specialising in the acquisition and management of portfolios of non-performing loans and risky assets, has bought the Romanian-based consumer finance operations of Belgian group KBC. Slavia Capital used the Loan Management fund for the acquisition, with the newly-bought portfolio to be managed by APS - Asset Portfolio Servicing, through its Bucharest subsidiary. The value of the deal on has not been revealed. The announcement of the deal is set to be made by KBC and the Slovaks this week. The name of the company will be changed to APS Consumer Finance IFN. After several months of talks, KBC, a group which during the economic boom announced big plans to develop its operations in Romania, and even bought Romstal Leasing for around 70 million euros, ultimately decided to drop consumer finance operations, which saw loans granted even in stores, loans that came with a high interest and were used for buying durable goods.