Alpha Bank posts €37.9 mln profit for 2007

Alpha Bank’s portfolio of loans granted in Romania reached €2.71 billion by the end of 2007, up 126 percent year-on-year. The bank holds seventh place among players on the banking market, dropping in Q4 2007 from fourth place, following the externalization of a portion of the mother bank’s corporate finance portfolio by Alpha Bank’s bankers.

Alpha Bank Romania is one of the leaders in the real estate segments, with some 7.2 percent of the total share of loans. “While last year our strategy was based on aggressive development, the year 2008 will be a period of consolidation of all segments. As concerns profit, we have revised plans for 2008, and are expecting growth, sustained by a diversification of products and services and the opening of a further 75 new banking units,” according to an exclusive statement for Business Standard by Sergiu Oprescu, CEO of Alpha Bank Romania.

The value of deposits by December 2007 reached €1.18 bln, which represents a 42 percent advance compared to the same period in 2006.

Alpha Bank’s market share by the end of last year in terms of loans rose by 2.2 percentage points, to 6.5 percent, according to the presentation made by the Greek financial group. By that same period, Alpha Bank Romania had 125 units and 1,855 employees.