Market sources say the meeting was due to take place at the Hilton, several hours after the Greek bosses released the first details on the establishment of the new bank with EUR151 billion in assets, set to become the largest lender in the Greek banking system. The information was not officially confirmed by the time the story was ready for posting.
So far, neither Alpha, nor Bancpost issued any message regarding the domestic merger project. The heads of the two banks are in permanent contact with Athens via teleconference and any information is eagerly expected by the 6,000 employees, although interest is equally high among clients.
Oprescu and Weiss will have a lot of work to do together in the following months to implement the merger. Only one of the two would run the new bank, ranking third by assets, but this is not a top issue on the agenda for the time being.
Legally, the merger should be completed in the next six months, with the toughest part to follow, namely the merger of branches, products and services and of the two organizational cultures. Alpha has a stronger organizational structure, while in the case of Bancpost trade unions still have a strong say.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu; Editing by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)