Reports of more Greek bank interest abroad
Alpha Bank, Greece’s second-largest lender, is in talks to acquire Turkish Tekfenbank as part of its strategy to gain a foothold in the country’s banking market, financial daily Imerisia reported yesterday. The paper said Turkey’s banking market is on Alpha’s radar screen and that its management «is in talks with Tekfenbank, a subsidiary of Tekfen Holding,» without quoting sources. Alpha Bank would not comment on whether it was eyeing the Turkish bank, but one official said the Turkish market was an area of interest. «Our strategy includes the group’s expansion in Turkey and Ukraine, as long as opportunities arise at logical valuations,» the Alpha Bank official, who declined to be named, told Reuters. Speculation that more Greek banks are exploring acquisitions in Turkey has intensified after National Bank’s deal last week to buy 46 percent of Finansbank for 2.3 billion euros – a record Greek-Turkish deal. On Monday, Alpha dismissed press speculation that it was looking to acquire Turkish Denizbank. The paper said Tekfenbank is not listed and has a 0.2 percent market share of Turkey’s banking market. «Alpha’s interest in Turkey’s banking market did not arise suddenly but has intensified after National’s acquisition of Finansbank,» the paper said. Piraeus Bank Separately, Piraeus Bank, the country’s fifth-largest lender, yesterday dismissed a press report that it is planning a large rights issue to fund the acquisition of banks in Egypt and Greece. «At this moment, there is no deal or negotiations to buy a bank in Greece or in Egypt, as the press report claims. Moreover, information regarding a 700-million- to 1.0-billion-euro rights issue is not true,» the bank said in a stock market filing. Piraeus, currently present in the United States, Albania, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Egypt, said its strategy to expand in Southeastern Europe is well known to investors and that it «intends to implement it both via organic growth of its network and acquisitions.» Last year Piraeus ventured into Egypt, buying out Egyptian Commercial Bank (ECB), now named Piraeus Bank Egypt. (Reuters)
