Greek-owned bank Piraeus has targeted an aggressive growth strategy that will see both credits and the bank's network triple by 2010, after business witnessed a rapid growth this year.
In the first three quarters, Piraeus Bank Romania, the domestic branch of one of Greece's leading groups, derived gross profit worth 14.6 million euros, according to group data, published in Athens. Profit after the first nine-month is double the figure budgeted for the entire year, 7 million euros (which is double the profit of 2006).
The local branch is a success story for the Greeks, who conducted a "case study" on development and strategy until 2010, in the financial results reported for the first three quarters.
The loans granted by Piraeus Bank (which includes loans outsourced to its parent bank) totalled 1.77 billion euros in September, up 175% on December last year. Across the group, the loans granted by the Greeks amounted to 1.82 billion euros on the Romanian market. Apart from the bank, the group owns a leasing company and two brokers, one dealing in insurance and the other in securities.
"The Romanian market has great potential, because the sector is underdeveloped compared with other European Union countries," representatives say. Although it appreciates the economic environment, which is favourable to investments, Piraeus highlights the widening foreign deficit as a prime threat.
Piraeus has also announced bold expansion plans, and intends to triple its volume of loans by 2010, and reach 6.8 billion euros. Under these circumstances, the share of the loan market would increase from the current 4.2% to 7% within three years.
Deposits made by clients registered a slower increase, up 28% since the end of last year, to 383 million euros in September. Piraeus has calculated that it accounts for a 1.2% share of the deposit market.
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