Alpha Bank withdraws from merger with Eurobank after Greek debt swap

Alpha Bank will propose revoking the decision to merge with EFG Eurobank to its shareholders, 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. Around 95 percent of private investors have accepted Greece’s debt swap deal, worth some EUR 200 billion, qualifying the country for the latest IMF and EU bailout and giving the beleaguered Greeks some much needed breathing space. Greece wanted bondholders, such as banks and pension funds, to agree to take a 53.5 percent cut in the EUR 206 billion euros of Greek bonds they hold. editor@romania-insider.com