National to hold on to Finansbank
National Bank has reached an agreement with the European Commission’s competition authorities that the Greek lender will retain its majority stake in Turkish subsidiary Finansbank but depart from most other Southeastern European countries where it currently has a presence.
The deal with the Directorate General for Competition provides for National to hold on to its 60 percent stake in Finansbank, which is National’s biggest ever investment abroad. The remaining 40 percent will be sold to investors in two stages by the end of 2017.
It will also have to withdraw from the markets of Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania.
Its activities in Turkey through Finansbank constitute 72 percent of the National Bank Group’s activities abroad, as Turkey is one of the biggest and most dynamic markets internationally and cannot be compared with any other market in the region.
