Greek lender Alpha Bank, which is also present in Romania, is close to agreeing to sell 30 percent in its east European units to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), according to Real News, quoted by Bloomberg. None of the publications mentioned the source of the information for this deal.

The Greek lender plans to separate its units in Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia from their Greek parent, placing them into a holding which would then be partially sold to the EBRD.

Alpha Bank recently withdrawn from a merger with another Greek lender, Eurobank, due to the exchange offer of bonds issued or guaranteed by Greece and its effects on the banking sector. The two banks were set to merge, which would have created the third largest bank in Romania.

In November last year, Alpha Bank shareholders agreed the merger with Eurobank. End-January, Alpha bank said a new shareholders meeting was required to discuss the terms of the merger, as its effects on the two banks would have been disproportionate under the initial deal. On the other hand, Eurobank said there was no reason for the merger not to go through.

The new group would have been among the top 25 largest Eurozone banking groups with total assets of EUR 146 billion. It would have more than 1,300 branches across 8 countries and top 3 market positions in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Serbia. In Romania, it would have had gross loans of EUR 6.9 billion, the biggest amount in the four mentioned markets.

editor@romania-insider.com