Piraeus Bank expects higher profit this year

Piraeus Bank, the domestic subsidiary of Greek group Piraeus, which has in recent years stood out through aggressive growth on the lending segment, is now banking on attracting clients in agencies for current operations, so that it may stabilise its revenues. Piraeus Bank this year expects profit to be higher than the 17m-euro one generated in 2009, but rising revenues can be particularly registered in the fees area, in the context where loan demand is still weak, says Catalin Parvu, the bank’s CEO. “Fee income represents a very large reserve we want to act upon. Fees from operations or any services provided to clients are risk-free revenues and are the most natural to develop. But we must boost the number of clients and sell more products and services to the already existing ones,” says Parvu. Piraeus has around 300,000 clients in its portfolio, whom it serves through an 186-branch network. Most branches are new, considering the heavy territorial network expansion started in 2005-2006. Parvu points out that first-quarter operating revenues climbed by 14% from a year ago, while operating expenses slightly dropped. Yet, the Greek bank did not close any branches. Parvu says first-quarter profit was much better than in 2009, and the second quarter is also looking “good”.