Bob Diamond to invest over 100 mln euros in Praxia Bank
Among the issues established Greek banks need to worry about these days may also be competition from new online lender Praxia Bank, in which ex-Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has pledged to invest more than 100 million euros, according to Praxia CEO Anastasia Sakellariou.
The plans of Atlas Merchant Capital, which belongs to Diamond, to invest in Praxia were made public last month, but on Thursday Sakellariou clarified the size of the investment, telling Bloomberg that, “given the positive outlook for Greece as it emerges from the crisis, Atlas Merchant Capital identified a significant market opportunity to build a specialized bank early on.”
Praxia was only founded last year, after Atlas Merchant acquired the license of Credicom Consumer Finance Bank, and is the sole new entity in a market dominated by established players that have run into trouble in recent years.
The digital lender’s aim is to provide credit to small and medium-sized enterprises in Greece which face significant difficulties trying to take out loans following the outbreak of the Greek crisis.
“With the presence of a strong shareholder like Atlas, we are in the best possible position to complete the buildup of the bank’s architecture and initiate our plans,” Sakellariou stated.
