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Western EuropeFebruary 2 2005

Agis Leopoulos

general manager, international activities, National Bank of GreeceAs the youngest general manager at National Bank of Greece (NBG) – the country’s biggest banking group – Agis Leopoulos, head of international activities, had to prove he deserved a place on the team.
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Mr Leopoulos, 36, a London School of Economics graduate, joined NBG after a stint in Brussels as a junior eurocrat. Based at the bank’s French subsidiary, he worked on international syndications, then moved to Athens to set up the investor relations department and work on a New York Stock Exchange listing – the first by a Greek bank. Given his high-flying background, some doubted whether he could handle the gritty realities of banking in south-east Europe.

The bank’s unwieldy international division urgently needed restructuring when he took over in June 2002. It ranged from Atlantic Bank, a profitable New York-based operation, to a clutch of branch networks in high-risk countries such as Serbia, Romania and Albania, which are nonetheless seen as the bank’s best opportunity for growth.

So far he has outperformed his mandate. Italian and Austrian banks have muscled in on south-east Europe as economic growth rates pick up. But NBG has the region’s biggest network, with more than 200 branches in five countries and a fast-growing mortgage and consumer lending portfolio. “He looks like a diplomat but underneath the polish there’s a hungry deal-maker at work,” says a senior executive at a rival Greek bank.

Nine-month results showed profits from NBG’s south-east European operations up 30% to E38m – accounting for almost 10% of group profits.

Risks: If, as expected, Turkey gets a date this month for the start of EU accession negotiations, Mr Leopoulos will be tasked with taking NBG into the region’s most challenging market. Success would mark him out for the CEO’s job at a first-tier Greek bank. But if NBG were to stumble in Turkey, he would probably look for a job abroad with an international bank.

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Read more about:  Western Europe , Greece