National Bank of Greece (NBG) will have to withdraw from several markets in Southeast Europe, including Romania, according to the European Commission’s restructuring plans for Greek banks, reports Ekathimerini.com.

The plans for NBG and Piraeus Bank were approved in late-July, following those for Alpha in early-July and Eurobank in April, writes the Greek publication.

According to these plans, NBG will keep a presence in Turkey by retaining majority control of Finansbank, but will have to withdraw from all other countries in Southeast Europe. The bank will have to sell its subsidiaries in Albania, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, South Africa and the branches it operates in Egypt by June 2018, reports Ekathimerini.com.

The restructuring plan for Piraeus Bank provides for no more than 870 branches and some 15,300 employees by end-2017 and it also includes a drastic cutback in activities abroad.

In Romania, NBG owns Banca Romneasca, Garanta Asigurari, NBG Leasing and NBG Securities.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com