Romania banking workforce data shows divergent staffing trends and salary gaps
At the close of 2025, Romania’s seven largest commercial banks maintained a combined workforce of 36,148 employees while recording total personnel expenses exceeding 7,1 miliarde de lei, according to financial reports analyzed by bankingnews.ro. These expenditures encompass salaries, employee benefits, and related payroll taxes and contributions. The data illustrates a widening gulf between lenders expanding through major acquisitions and competitors trimming headcount to prioritize digital operations.
Banca Transilvania and UniCredit Bank expand headcounts through major acquisitions
Banca Transilvania and UniCredit Bank stand as the only lenders among the top seven to grow their staff numbers between 2022 and 2025, bankingnews.ro reported. Banca Transilvania expanded its workforce by 981 positions to reach 10,180 employees, supported by a personnel budget and a calculated monthly gross average salary of 17,682 lei. UniCredit Bank added 1,150 employees over the same period, driven largely by its integration of Alpha Bank Romania. By comparison, the other five institutions in the analysis registered workforce reductions.
ING Bank pays highest average monthly salaries with smallest staff
ING Bank ranks first in average monthly gross remuneration per employee, despite operating with the smallest team among the seven banks, bankingnews.ro reported. The lender recorded 2,449 employees and 726 de milioane de lei in personnel expenses for 2025. This lean staffing model relies heavily on digital banking services and a franchised branch network where roughly 1,300 additional workers operate under the brand without appearing on the bank’s direct payroll.
BCR, Raiffeisen Bank, and BRD maintain comparable mid-tier remuneration
Outside of ING Bank’s leading figures, major lenders cluster closely in average monthly gross salaries. BCR reported 2025 personnel expenditures of approximately 1,043 miliarde de lei, translating to a monthly average gross salary of 18,067 lei. BRD Groupe Société Générale recorded personnel costs of 994 de milioane de lei with a monthly average of 16,683 lei, while Raiffeisen Bank registered 958 de milioane de lei in staff expenses and a 16,993 lei monthly average.
CEC Bank records lowest average pay despite massive asset size
CEC Bank registers the lowest average monthly gross salary among the seven institutions at 10,355 lei, based on 2025 data from bankingnews.ro. The state-controlled lender reported personnel expenses of 608 milioane de lei across a workforce of 4,893 employees. This places CEC Bank’s average remuneration at roughly 2.4 times lower than ING Bank’s peak figure, even though CEC Bank maintains a headcount comparable to BCR, BRD, and Raiffeisen Bank and ranks among the country’s largest institutions by total assets.
Frequently asked questions about Romania banking payroll data
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What specific costs are included in the personnel expenditures reported by bankingnews.ro?
The figures cover total annual staff costs divided across 12 months, which encompass base salaries, employee benefits, and all associated payroll taxes and social contributions. -
Which bank experienced the largest workforce reduction between 2022 and 2025?
BRD Groupe Société Générale cut 868 positions over the three-year period, representing the steepest headcount reduction among the seven analyzed banks. -
How does UniCredit Bank account for the Alpha Bank Romania integration in its salary calculations?
Because the full-year 2025 data is distorted by the acquisition timing, the analysis incorporates financial reports from the first half of 2026, where UniCredit recorded 408 milioane de lei in personnel expenses for 3,940 employees, yielding a monthly gross average of 17,259 lei.