ATHENS: Greece's Eurobank will buy out the Bulgarian branches of another top Greek lender Alpha Bank for the symbolic price of one euro, a Eurobank source said Friday.
"The agreement is all drawn up," the source said, adding that the boards of Eurobank, Greece's number three lender, and number four Alpha Bank would separately meet later on Friday to approve it.
Around 80 Alpha branches will be absorbed by Eurobank's Bulgarian subsidiary Postbank.
"Postbank currently has 180 branches. With this acquisition, it will become the fourth-largest bank in Bulgaria," the Eurobank source said on condition of anonymity.
Greek daily Kathimerini, which broke the story Friday, noted that the country's recently-recapitalised lenders are under pressure by European authorities to concentrate on the domestic market.
Bank executives therefore expect the banks' presence abroad will be "drastically" reduced over the next two years, excepting markets where they have a strategic presence, Kathimerini said.
Greece's biggest lender National Bank has been under pressure to sell 40 percent of its Turkish subsidiary Finansbank, the daily said.
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