Greece-ing the wheels

The Greek bank will operate through its Polbank EFG subsidiary and plans to open 50 branches by the end of the year. Now, it is putting the finishing touches to several branches in Warsaw.

In the Greek media, EFG Eurobank revealed that Polbank EFG would open an ambitious 200 branches within the next three years. Unofficial sources say they want to acquire three percent of the market and target less affluent customers. In order to achieve that, Polbank EFG would have to invest some zł.500 million.

Polish banks are taking the threat seriously, as in Greece EFG Eurobank is the third-largest bank, with a market share of 15 percent. In the first nine months of 2005 its net profit was EUR 385 million (zł.1.47 billion), which is comparable to PKO BP's results for 2004.