Alpha Bank Net Profit Up 48.4% in H1

Alpha Bank"s H1 net profit increased by 48.4% to 454 million EUR, driven by sustained performance of the bank"s operations in Greece and an increasing contribution of its rapidly expanding Southeastern European operations. Net interest income rose by 8.3% to Euro 752.5 million, which translates into an improving net interest margin net of impairment charges of 2.6%.

Fee and commission income rose by 14.8% underpinned by the continuous expansion in the retail business as evidenced by the increase in loan related charges (+33.2%) and credit card fees (+39.7%). Income from financial operations reached Euro 40.6 million, while other income amounted to Euro 41.8 million.

Operating expenses increased by 12.4% to Euro 485.2 million, stemming from a 10.7% increase in staff costs and a 14.4% increase in general expenses. Cost growth in Southeastern Europe of 27.1% reflects the bank"s network expansion by 96 branches and the respective increase in staff numbers (+812 employees). Despite the heavy investment programme, the cost-income ratio stands at 45.9%.

Loans and advances to customers (gross) reached Euro 37.5 billion at the end of June 2007, increasing by 21.3%. Strong loan growth of 16.5% in Greece and 70.5% in Southeastern Europe was registered while the share of retail loans in the total loan portfolio reached 53%.

Customer assets recorded an increase of 14.9%, reaching Euro 44.0 billion. Deposits in Greece grew to Euro 26.9 billion (+10.2%), while deposits in Southeastern Europe increased significantly to Euro 4.3 billion (+34.9%).

Profits before tax increased to Euro 49.8 million in Southeastern Europe. The bank expanded its network by 35 branches in the first half of 2007, reaching a network of 305 units in the region.

Yannis S. Costopoulos, Chairman: "2007 marks a milestone year for Alpha Bank as we are establishing critical mass in Southeastern Europe, where our Branches will outnumber those in Greece by the end of the year. Our delivery in new business generation is accelerating, well in line with our "Agenda 2010" plan. We are particularly pleased that all of us in Alpha Bank share enthusiastically into the vision of transforming Alpha Bank into a well- integrated financial institution with balanced footprint across Southeastern Europe creating real value for our Shareholders."

In Romania, where we have been present since 1994, our lending market share reached 5.8% in June 2007, increasing by 2.1 percentage points since June 2006, making our way to the top tier banks. Alpha Bank was the first Bank to receive in May 2007 validation on its retail credit underwriting methodologies from the Central Bank, which allowed for more than tripling of its new disbursements in mortgages and consumer loans.