June 14 (SeeNews) - Eurobank Bulgaria, which operates under the Postbank brand, said on Friday that it has completed the acquisition of local peer Piraeus Bank Bulgaria from Greece's Piraeus Bank.
Piraeus Bank Bulgaria will remain a unit of Eurobank Bulgaria until the two banks merge, Eurobank Bulgaria - a unit of Greece's Eurobank Ergasias, said in a statement.
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The operational integration between the two lenders is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Eurobank Bulgaria received clearance to acquire Piraeus Bank Bulgaria from the Commission for Protection of Competition last month. The two lenders will hold a combined market share of 11.5% in terms of retail banking, and 9% regarding wholesale banking, making them the fourth largest player on both segments, the anti-trust body said in its decision.
Eurobank Bulgaria received preliminary approval from Bulgaria's central bank in March.
In November 2018, Eurobank signed an agreement to acquire Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. The value of Piraeus Bank Bulgaria's shares is 75 million euro ($84.6 million) and the transaction will have limited effect on Eurobank's common equity tier 1 capital, Eurobank Bulgaria said at the time.
At the end of April, Piraeus Bank Bulgaria was the country's 9th largest lender by assets, while Eurobank Bulgaria was fifth, according to the most recent central bank data.
($ = 0.8862 euro)
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