Alpha Bank was the standout performer in Greece in 2025 thanks to an ambitious growth strategy that included capital-light acquisitions in the form of AstroBank and AXIA, as well as the force multiplier effect of the partnership with UniCredit.
The acquisition of AstroBank expanded Alpha Bank’s footprint in Cyprus, positioning it as the country’s third-largest bank with around 10% market share. Alpha Bank used its excess capital to pursue a disciplined expansion that supports Alpha’s ambition to build a broader Greece-Cyprus platform. It strengthens Alpha’s ability to serve SMEs and corporates active in cross-border trade between Greece and Cyprus, while financially it doubled local profitability.
The UniCredit partnership is another major strategic differentiator. Alpha Bank is the only Greek bank with a leading European banking group embedded as an institutional core shareholder, giving it a structurally different platform to its peers.
For corporate clients, the partnership improves access to European markets, enhances trade finance and broadens treasury services, which is especially relevant for Greek businesses with international expansion ambitions as Alpha can now combine domestic relationship coverage with UniCredit’s European infrastructure and network. The partnership also strengthens Alpha’s private banking proposition by giving private banking clients access to international investment solutions such as Onemarkets Fund through an open architecture model.
Finally, AXIA Ventures now forms the backbone of a new regional investment banking and capital markets platform, adding specialist advisory and capital raising capabilities for mid-sized and large corporates in Greece and Cyprus. This builds on Alpha Bank’s own corporate finance division, which provides advisory across M&A, capital markets, valuations and structuring, supporting clients in complex transactions such as capital increases and bond issuances.
The impact is visible in the bank’s revenue mix: fee and commission income rose 19% year-on-year to €501 million in 2025, with a growing contribution from investment banking, business credit-related fees and advisory services. AXIA also brings specialist talent and sharper execution capacity in demanding transactions.
