GE Capital’s 1999 negotiations for Posta Bank in Romania were an ugly mess from the start. The bank’s board and senior managers made clear it was hate at first sight. Their distaste was because we were Americans and Brits, Capitalists or maybe it was because they were forced to sell the institution by the government or all three. GE’s acquisitions of retail banks across Europe had become rote and I’d developed a standard press release that had worked in multiple countries with multiple journalists. In Bucharest, it got me called a “fucking ass wipe” in their native tongue by the president of the bank, a 67-year-old woman. Posta Bank was called “The Ladies Bank” because it was run by females, all of whom had advanced under the Soviet system and their iron-fisted manner showed it. The talks were more venomous than any of us had ever experienced. It was about to get worse.
© 2024 John Oliver
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