Alpha Bank to expand further in Romania

Alpha Bank chief executive officer Vassilis Psaltis pointed to further expansion and acquisitions in Romania in a joint interview with CEO of Italian bank UniCredit, Andrea Orcel for Bloomberg,

The two CEOs, who have created the third-largest bank in Romania, said they believe in Romania’s prospects and see plenty of value there.

Psaltis said the collaboration with UniCredit was a way to extract more value, while maintaining an investment in a larger bank, which will serve Greek customers operating in the country.

“Romania is a great market,” said Psaltis, adding that in the event of expansion in the country, it would be a joint pursuit.

“If and when there is an opportunity, we would also cooperatively consider the possibility of acquisitions,” added Orcel.

The cooperation with Alpha Bank is one of the smallest negotiations that Orcel has managed. Nevertheless, it has evolved in such a way that it has become a model for the introduction of the Italian bank into new markets.

UniCredit recently agreed to buy the 9% stake held by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) in Alpha Bank together with its majority stake in Romania.

The aim of the Italian bank is the merger of the two units, its own and the one that belonged to Alpha Bank.

The two sides also agreed to a network partnership and a joint venture for retirement savings products. Alpha Bank received 300 million euros in cash for the Romanian operation and retained 9.9% of the merged company.