Greek banking: Clash of the titans

IN THE ANCIENT Greek myth of the Titanomacy (battle of the Titans), the whole Earth shook as a younger generation of gods led by Zeus and Poseidon threw lightning bolts crafted by hundred-handed giants to overthrow their father Cronus, who had himself stolen the throne by castrating his father Uranus, with the help of his mother Gaia.

Only time will tell if the current battle for supremacy being waged in the Greek financial world between Marfin Financial Group and Piraeus Bank will gain mythological status. However, with both camps being led by banking heroes with an eye on their legendary status, this agon promises to be a memorable one.

In just eight years, Andreas Vgenopoulos has transformed Marfin Investment Services, the small brokerage he started in 1998, into a business worth nearly €7 billion through a series of acquisitions.

In 2001, Marfin Investment Services broke into the banking sector...