Market Talk Apr 26

Marfin

There must be a misunderstanding as to who will own how much in the new Bank that Marfin wants to create in Greece through a merger with Egnatia and Laiki Hellas operations.

A statement by Marfin Vice-Chairman Andreas Vgenopoulos that Marfin will secure a 50% plus stake in the new Super Bank contrasts sharply with earlier comments made by Laiki Chairman Kikis Lazarides, who had said that Laiki Hellas will secure a 40% share in the new setup. Between the two, nothing is left for Egnatia.

Unless of course there is a mix-up as to what each of the three-way partners will offer to transfer to the new Bank. We all know that Marfin is particularly strong in investment banking but with limited operations in commercial banking. Its net interest income in 2005 amounted to EUR 12.1 mln with total advances at EUR 0.5 bln and deposits at EUR 0.7 bln.

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