Greek Alpha Bank's Romanian Unit 9-Mo Profit Before Tax Rises 105% Y/Y to 47.8 Mln Euro

The bank's deposit portfolio in the January-September period increased by 49% on the year to 1.48 billion euro, while its loan portfolio rose by 72% to 4.03 billion euro, providing the bank with a 7.6% share on the loan market in Romania, Alpha Bank said in a statement.

Alpha Bank Romania's network reached 173 branches by the end of September, compared to 96 a year ago.

The largest bank by assets in Romania, a country of 22 million people, is Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), a unit of Austria's Erste Group. According to data of Romania's central bank, BCR had a 23.8% market share at the end of 2007, followed by the Romanian Development Bank (BRD), a unit of French abnking group Societe Generale, with 15.5%. Alpha Bank Romania ranked seventh with a 5.1% share.

($ = 0.775 euro)