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Greece's Alpha Bank Signals HNW Ambitions With Acquisition
The Greek bank intends to expand its services to HNW individuals and institutions in the domestic market and overseas.
The move last week by Greece’s Alpha Bank to buy 69.1
per cent of Alpha Trust’s issued share capital is part of the
lender's plan to expand its reach into the high net
worth area, an asset manager notes.
Alpha Bank also intends, it said in its announcement, to launch a
Voluntary Tender Offer aimed at the remaining shareholders to buy
the rest of the outstanding shares of the Alpha Trust, at the
same price per share as that offered under the share purchase
agreements.
The transaction and the VTO are expected to be completed by the
end of the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary
regulatory approvals and consents.
“Alpha Bank’s latest transaction adds €2 billion-plus to its
asset management’s division AuM of €23 billion ($26.9 billion).
It’s a bolt on acquisition and makes strategic sense given the
asset manager’s expertise in alternative investments, an area
Alpha wanted to acquire expertise in,” Matthias Siller,
co-portfolio manager of Barings Emerging EMEA Opportunities, said
in a note yesterday. “With a market share of 30 per cent, Alpha
is the largest Greek asset manager and aims to leverage its close
cooperation with 30 per cent shareholder Unicredit to gain
further market share via a push into the HNWI field.”
“Currently asset management fees represent more than a quarter of
Alpha’s noninterest income, one of the highest percentages in the
industry,” Siller said.
When the transactions and VTO are complete, Alpha Trust’s wealth
management activities are expected to be integrated into Alpha
Bank’s private banking division, adding extra strength to Alpha
Bank’s coverage and support services to HNW and
institutional clients in Greece and overseas.
The bank said the transaction is expected to be accretive for
earnings per share by about 1 per cent for the group, yield
a return on invested capital of more than 15 per cent, and have a
limited impact – of about 17 basis points – on Alpha Bank’s
Common Equity Tier 1 ratio.