Alpha Bank, the seventh-largest lender, announced that non-governmental loans evolved four times faster than average in the entire banking system in the first four months of 2007.
Alpha Bank, a subdivision of the Alpha Bank Group, one of the leading banking and financial services groups in Greece, had a 4.2 percent market share at the end of 2006 and €2.4 billion worth of assets.
“A broader view of the dynamic of the banking sector indicates an ongoing drop in the annual rate of non-governmental credits – including loans for individuals – since July 2006, and a continuous rise in the annual rate of deposits since September 2006,” Elena Nita, PR Officer at Alpha Bank told Business Standard.
She added that in the case of Alpha Bank Romania, in the first four months of 2007, the growth rate of non-governmental loans was four times higher than that registered in the entire banking system, “47.6 percent compared to 12.9 percent”, while the growth rate of loans for individuals was twice the average in the sector, or “37.8 percent compared to 15.8 percent”.
Recently, Alpha Bank Romania increased its share capital by €17 million, to €181.5 million, as a part of its expansion plan, and also to be able to grant more loans.
Currently, the bank has a network which includes 79 branches and agencies, of which nine became operational in the first quarter of 2007. Alpha Bank Romania posted a gross income at the end of Q1 2007 of €6.57 million, lower than Q1 2006, due to the aggressive increase in its network. The bank’s assets rose in Q1 2007 by 17 percent, up to €2.47 billion, and its own capital was about €318 million by the end of March 2007.
