Piraeus Bank (Cyprus) to commence in Feb ‘08

The Central Bank of Cyprus, under the provisions of the Banking Law (Law 66(I) of 1997 as subsequently amended), granted on 29 November 2007 a banking business licence to “Piraeus Bank (Cyprus) Ltd”, a 100% subsidiary of “Piraeus Bank SA” of Greece, which is expected to commence full banking operations from February 2008.

The Bank intends to open 12 branches in February 2008, 4 of which would be located in Nicosia, 3 in Limassol, 2 in Larnaca, 2 in Paphos and 1 in Paralimni.

Piraeus Bank SA was established in 1916 and is today the fourth largest bank in Greece, in terms of total assets.  The bank is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange since 1918.  As regards its share capital, there is a wide spread and no single shareholder owns directly or indirectly a percentage of more than 5% of the bank’s shares.  In the last few years the bank, through a number of mergers and acquisitions as well as organic development, has achieved continuous growth in size, business  and activities.

Piraeus Bank SA leads a group of companies involved in financial and banking activities in Greece and abroad.  At the end of September 2007, the group of Piraeus Bank had a network of 690 branches (309 in Greece and 381 abroad).  The group’s presence abroad focuses in Southeastern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean, but also in the financial centres of London and New York.

Piraeus Bank (Cyprus) Ltd intends to offer its services through retail banking, corporate banking SMEs, wealth management and international banking units.

Piraeus Bank (Cyprus) Ltd will be subject to primary supervision and inspection by the Central Bank of Cyprus as well as by the Bank of Greece, on a consolidated basis.

Piraeus Bank SA is the fifth Greek bank which establishes a presence in Cyprus. The decision of Piraeus Bank SA to establish a subsidiary in Cyprus is another indication of our country’s success in attracting international credit institutions as a result of Cyprus’s international recognition as a reputable regional banking / financial centre.

There are at present, 33 foreign credit institutions from 14 different countries (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Ireland, Jersey, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Romania, Russia, Tanzania, Ukraine and the United Kingdom), which operate in Cyprus either in the form of a subsidiary bank or branch.