Two of Greece's biggest lenders, Alpha Bank and Eurobank EFG, were holding merger talks on Monday, which if the deal goes ahead would create the country's biggest bank, the Athens News Agency (ANA) said, according to dpa. The boards of both Athens-based banks were meeting to discuss the merger, as well as a capital boost for the new bank. EFG is Greece's second-biggest bank and Alpha Bank third-biggest. The new bank would also have the participation of investment funds from Qatar, reports said. A stock exchange announcement said it had temporarily suspended trading Monday in the shares of both Alpha Bank and Eurobank, pending the official announcement on the outcome of the merger talks. If the deal goes ahead it will create Greece's largest bank in terms of assets and capitalisation. Greece is currently facing a financial crisis and avoided bankruptcy after it was given two international bailouts worth a combined 220 billion euros. The ruling Socialist PASOK government has encouraged bank consolidation, arguing that a strong capital basis will support the market.
