Creating a ‘fifth pole’ in Greek banking
On July 31, Pancreta Bank absorbed the Greek assets of global banking colossus HSBC, taking in a highly complementary business and, in effect, creating a new bank, far from its 1993 origins as a cooperative bank named Credit Development Cooperative of Heraklion.
In an interview with Kathimerini, CEO Antonis Vartholomeos explains that upcoming mergers will further expand the bank.
As of July 31, the bank’s assets exceeded €3.5 billion and it employs more than 800 people in over 60 branches. This fall, it will absorb the Central Macedonia Cooperative Bank, and, in 2024, merge with Attica Bank.
After taking over HSBC’s operations, Pancreta is focusing on financial consulting, but has also expanded its retail network, which now “is significantly strengthened in Attica, to serve our more than 300,000 clients, who can now use our advanced e-banking,” Vartholomeos says.
“Over a little more than 12 months, teams from the two banks completed a demanding project and achieved a secure and smooth transition… During this time Pancreta had to design and develop from scratch systems and procedures for HSBC products it didn’t have,” the CEO added.
The Bank of Greece is known to favor creating a fifth large bank to compete on an equal basis with the “big four” – Alpha Bank, EFG Eurobank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank.
“It is a fact that, over the past 10 years, the banking sector was concentrated into very few banks, distorting competition, which maintains a healthy market but also better serves customers. This can be solved only by strengthening smaller banks or creating new ones, something supported by the Bank of Greece,” the CEO says.
