Eurobank eyes control of Hellenic Bank
Eurobank’s deputy chief executive, managing director and head of international operations, Stavros Ioannou, has expressed the bank’s desire to eventually gain full control of Hellenic Bank in Cyprus.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ioannou stated that Eurobank plans to expand its operations into new markets, including Saudi Arabia, Dubai, India and Israel, with a focus on wealthy clients. The Greek lender aims to increase its profits from international operations by broadening its presence in these developing wealth management markets.
Ioannou emphasized the importance of expanding their footprint in order to achieve success, stating, “These are still developing wealth management markets that you need to enter early enough to take advantage of the potential and opportunities.”
Eurobank’s increased ambitions reflect the ongoing recovery in Cyprus’ financial sector after a decade-long debt crisis, which burdened banks with over 100 billion euros in bad loans until 2016.
Bloomberg further pointed out that Eurobank’s share price has risen by nearly 46% this year, bolstered by expectations that Greece will soon regain investment-grade status.
