Alpha Bank completes sale of Serbian unit to AIK Banka

The transaction contributes towards, and is fully consistent with, the execution of the restructuring plan of Alpha Bank, the Greek lender said in a filing with the Athens Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

No financial details were disclosed.

The corporate name of Alpha Bank Srbija will be changed to Jubanka and Aleksandra Erdoglija will be the new head of the lender, AIK Banka said in a separate statement on Tuesday.

The transaction creates conditions for the expansion of AIK Banka into other areas of the economy, thereby strengthening the economic competitiveness of the entire region, the lender said.

"The deal is crucial as it represents the first significant transaction that is part of the upcoming consolidation of the domestic banking market," the CEO of AIK Banka, Jelena Galic, said in a video file posted on the website of news agency Tanjug on Tuesday.

In January, Alpha Bank said it agreed to sell its Serbian subsidiary to AIK Banka in a capital ratio- and liquidity-accretive deal. Alpha Bank's Serbian unit swung to profit worth 678.5 million dinars ($5.8 million/5.5 million euro) in 2016, from 953.6 million dinars loss in the previous year.

Alpha Bank, which has 67 branches across Serbia, entered the Serbian market in 2002. In 2005, it acquired Jubanka, Serbia’s seventh largest bank, in a 152 million euro ($164.1 million) privatisation deal. Elsewhere in Southeastern Europe, Alpha Bank also has a presence in Macedonia, Albania and Romania.

(1 euro = 123.863 dinars)