Alpha Bank takes over Metropolitan

ALPHA BANK Ltd yesterday announced that it had taken a controlling stake in the small Metropolitan Insurance company in a move that industry analysts said had long been anticipated.

A statement by the bank, part of the Greece’s Alpha Credit Bank group, did not say how much it had paid for the 70 per cent stake in Metropolitan, which it renamed Alpha Insurance. Its choice, it added, was dictated by what it called the “healthy position” of the company and its years of experience.

The brief statement also said that the new company, with the help of Alpha Group’s services and products, was destined to capture a larger share of the local life insurance market.

The analysts said the privately-owned Metropolitan, established about five years ago, had about one per cent of the life insurance market in Cyprus. But they added that, armed with Alpha’s vast resources and expertise, it could chip away at the shares of the sector’s big players.

“Alpha did not buy Metropolitan for its share of the market,” commented one analyst. “It is a well-organised and efficient company with good internal controls. It is a good set-up for Alpha to take.”

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