Alpha Bank vies to become a star in the Balkans
Alpha Bank, the country’s second-largest commercial bank, plans to have more branches operating in neighboring Balkan countries by 2010 than in Greece itself, officials told a presentation yesterday. «The number of branches in Greece will be increased from 383 today to 480, and in the Balkans from 176 to 720. Total profitability is estimated to reach 1.2 billion euros from 0.5 billion today, with the rest of Southeastern Europe accounting for 25 percent of the total,» Managing Director Dimitris Matzounis said. He said «2006 signals the beginning of a new era for Alpha Bank,» which aims to become a «reference» bank in Southeastern Europe’s market of 60 million people, primarily through organic growth and, secondarily, through buyouts and mergers. The bank also aims to maintain the 20 percent growth in profits per share achieved in 2005 throughout the 2006-08 period, Matzounis said. The average number of employees per branch in total is to be reduced from 18 today to 13 in 2008. Besides expansion in the Balkans, the business plan includes very ambitious targets in the Greek market. Consumer lending is projected to rise by an average of 29 percent in the same period, mortgage lending by 24 percent and corporate loans by 11 percent, above market averages.
