Emporiki to expand on local market

Emporiki Bank has ambitious development plans, intending to open branches in all county capitals, says Theodor Stanescu, deputy general manager of the bank. The bank is owned by the Greek financial group Emporiki, the former Commercial Bank of Greece. Although Emporiki has a strong position on the Greek market and handles operations in several Balkan states, the Greeks have so far kept a low profile in Romania. “The expansion policy of our group targets the Balkan area and Romania in particular. We will reach ten branches in Bucharest by the end of the year from the four existing ones, with a more aggressive expansion planned for county capitals, as well,” stated Stanescu. He says Emporiki will open 20 branches outside the capital by the end of the year. The budget allocated to open one branch stands at 150-200 thousand euros, which would mean that the expansion effort could come to as much to four million euros. The bank”s network is made up of seven territorial branches, according to data published on the site of the institution. ZF