By Marianthi Pelekanaki

Greek banks are returning to normality after a decade of crisis, with the repurchase of their insurance companies, banking sources told Naftemporiki, following Eurobank’s deal with Fairfax for 80% of Eurolife (Life).

This agreement reflects the dynamic return of banks—and often their subsidiaries—to the insurance sector and the strengthening of their bancassurance portfolios.

The Eurobank deal follows Piraeus Bank’s acquisition of Ethniki Insurance, and comes just before the announcement of new insurance initiatives by the National Bank, as previously reported by Naftemporiki.

These moves, market players emphasize, mark a strong return to normality for Greek banks, leaving behind the remnants of the crisis.

“Greek banks now have the capital adequacy and liquidity needed to revive their insurance activities,” market sources noted. It is worth recalling that the sale of insurance companies by banking groups during the crisis was neither voluntary nor strategic, but mandated by supervisory authorities. A typical example was Eurobank, which had sold an 80% stake in Eurolife to Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH) and is now buying it back, as is the National Bank.

The repurchase of insurance operations thus represents “one of the final steps toward fully restoring the Greek banking system to normality,” banking sources said, signaling an end to the crisis-era constraints and full alignment with the European financial sector. More broadly, Greece’s systemic banks have now entered a dynamic growth path, positioning them to compete with major European banking groups.