National Bank will begin a series of presentations to large foreign institutional investors in New York and Boston with the aim to highligh its leading role in the wider Southeast European region.

Foreign institutional investors hold an equity stake of more than 53 percent in National Bank, up from 17 percent four years ago, evidence of international investors' confidence in the course of the bank and its presence in international markets.
National Bank's board, headed by chairman and chief executive Takis Arapoglou, emphasizes on the bank's performance in the region in the last few years, a development that has put National Bank at the focus on attention by international portfolios. Greece's largest financial institutional operates in Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, FYROM, Romania, Serbia and Turkey with investments more than 5.0 billion euros. National Bank said 40 percent of its revenues resulted from activities outside Greece, with 10 percent coming from the Balkans.

National Bank's board expects foreign institutional investors to show increased interest for the bank's activities in Turkey, through its subsidiary Finansbank. Finansbank's net profits totaled 244 million euros in the first half of 2007, or 31 percent of National Bank Group's profits. Finansbank aims to raise its branch network to 410 units by the end of the year.

National Bank is the 24th largest bank in the European Union, based on its capitalisation and ranks 363rd in the global list of the world's largest companies.

Source: Athens News Agency

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