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For the first nine months of 2011, Alpha Bank registers a net profit of € 41.6 million not including losses from the exchange of Greek government bonds with new ones of reduced face value (Private Sector Involvement, PSI +). It has been applied in order to reduce the foreign debt of Greece to serviceable levels. After the announcement of PSI+, under which Greek government bonds will be 50% cheaper, the bank has recorded losses of € 566.7 million.

The index Core Tier I, reached 10% and the capital adequacy is 11.2%. The Bank’s loan portfolio decreased by € 2.2 billion and is now at € 49.9 billion. Loans of delayed repayment are around 11.6%, and the coverage ratio of 46%, including collateral, amounts to 126%. Alpha Bank’s funding by central banks has jumped to € 1.3 billion in the third quarter of 2011. Alpha Bank stressed that in the third quarter, the institution continues to maintain its operating profit, thus proving the effectiveness of the pursued business plan, despite the difficult economic environment in which it has to develop. "Our priority is to successfully complete the process of merger of banks," stress superiors of the financial institution.

EFG Eurobank Ergasias could have reported a net profit of € 89 million in the first nine months of the year if the exchange of Greek government bonds of new face value reduced by half had not been enforced. After the start of PSI +, it has become clear that the economic performance of the bank until early October would be reported losses of € 575 million. The operating profit of EFG Eurobank Ergasias jumped to € 13 million for the third quarter of 2011, which is significantly better than the second quarter, when the financial institution had reported only € 3 million operating profit.

The bank branches in southeastern Europe register good profits and until the end of September this year, they have reached € 50 million, which is two times more than for the same period last year. At the same time, there is a reduction in operating costs of 3.1% in the third quarter and the cuts in spending during the whole year have reached 5.9%. Deposits for the period July to September have decreased by € 992 million, which is due to the general feeling of uncertainty and lack of market liquidity.

After less than a week, the final merger of two of the largest Greek banks, which will form the new financial giant of the Greek banking market Alpha-Eurobank, will be a fact. "The bank, which will be born from the merger will strengthen the Greek financial system; it will attract foreign investment and give the necessary boost to the local economy in order for the country to regain the positive growth rate," commented the Executive Chairman of the new Bank Yiannis Kostopoulos on the anticipated event. He stressed that the decision of both banks to unite is extremely important in the times of crisis that the country is going through.

"This will be one of the largest banks in southeastern Europe. Alpha-Eurobank will be stronger in terms of capital and will have a much higher level of confidence and efficiency. It will inspire confidence and reliability in society by providing quality services to its customers. It will create additional value for its shareholders and will offer many opportunities for the development of its employees." These are the words of the executive director of the new bank, Nikolaos Nanopoulos.