NBG wants insurance partner
National Bank, the country’s largest lender, will launch procedures to find an international strategic partner for its insurance unit in a bid to tap opportunities in the sector in Greece and the Balkans, it said yesterday. The bank, which has operations in 12 countries, wants to focus on developing bancassurance products, in Greece, Southeastern Europe and Turkey. «Our decision to search for a partner is consistent with the goals set… offering National Bank the opportunity to concentrate on core banking activities,» said National Bank CEO Takis Arapoglou in a statement. National Bank recently completed a three-year restructuring plan of its insurance unit in a move that improved its market share and performance, the lender added. No time frame for the process of finding the strategic partner was announced. Shares in National Bank, which has a market capitalization of 15.8 billion euros, fell 2.44 percent to 32 euros yesterday. The Athens bourse’s benchmark general index retreated 1.92 percent.
