Eurobank eyes June Cyprus opening

EFG Eurobank, Greece’s third largest financial group has announced its intention to expand into Cyprus through the establishment of its first branch here by June 2007, according to local sources.

Eurobank CEO Nikola Karamouzi had a meeting with the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, Christodoulos Christodoulou, with Eurobank officials stating that they welcome the competitive environment in the local banking market.

“After our expansion into the Balkan region, we decided that the time was right to expand our operations to Cyprus,” Karamouzi told reporters, adding that the expansion drive will be organic and does not include plans for mergers or takeovers.

Christodoulou welcomed the arrival of Eurobank to Cyprus as not only the Group is one of the best managed in Greece but it also will expand the range of services on offer in Cyprus.

Eurobank is one of Greece’s most dynamic banks with a presence in south east Europe with emphasis on the Balkans area including significant presence in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, as well as Poland and recently in Turkey and the Ukraine.

The EFG Group, based in Geneva and controlled by the Latsis family has 40.8% control of the voting shares of the Bank, with Eurobank enjoying a strong shareholder base since it has more than 300.000 institutional and private investors in its share registry.