Banks enter investment brokerage, too

Competition among banks is shifting to the commissions generated by lawsuit investments, arsenic they spot that the aboriginal of profitability nary longer lies solely successful loans, but successful who will power the concern narration with customers. This trend is reflected successful the latest moves by banking groups with acquisitions of brokerage firms, arsenic well arsenic plus absorption companies that are being transformed into a “valuable asset.”

The wave of agreements that is taking spot aims to make integrated concern ecosystems, arsenic aft the explosive emergence successful involvement rates and the historically precocious profits of caller years, banks admit that involvement income will not stay astatine existent levels forever. Thus, they are progressively turning aggressively to activities that make fixed fees, such arsenic wealth absorption and backstage banking, brokerage and concern banking. The extremity is to summation non-interest income to 30% of total income, from astir 20% today, ensuring the adjacent time of banking profitability. Brokerage companies are nary longer considered a complementary activity, but a gateway to support the lawsuit “within the group” and not question concern services successful autarkic brokerages, planetary brokers oregon integer platforms, but to transportation retired each their enactment – from banking transactions to investments – successful the aforesaid fiscal ecosystem.

It each started with the acquisition of AXIA Ventures by Alpha Bank, an statement that was considered pivotal for the bank’s strategy successful the superior markets. AXIA is to merge with Alpha Finance and the bank’s concern banking unit, creating a single brokerage and concern banking platform. The representation was completed with Alpha Bank’s nationalist connection for the acquisition of Alpha Trust, 1 of the astir well-known plus absorption companies successful the Greek market, done which the slope importantly strengthens its beingness successful communal funds and wealth management, fundamentally attempting to “close the loop” of concern services under a single umbrella. 

Optima is besides moving successful the aforesaid direction, done the acquisition of Euroxx, an statement that strengthens the bank’s presumption successful stock marketplace transactions, organization brokerage and superior marketplace services. Credia’s statement to get 70% of Pantelakis Securities sends a akin message, confirming that the caller wave of attraction successful the assemblage is conscionable beginning.