Praxia Bank

Hello, now don’t tell me the story about Catholic priests and nightclubs isn’t sexy. Not that we have a problem with Catholics, or all priests for that matter, but brother, it’s a bit odd to see hundreds of thousands being transferred from an Archdiocese (Syros) to some shady companies dealing in nightlife.

Greek payments company Viva Wallet is seeking to raise half a billion euros to support its digital banking operations, two sources told Reuters, eight months after securing a banking licence through a merger with Praxia Bank.

Viva Wallet's negotiations for the acquisition of online lender Praxia Bank have led to a definitive agreement, after Praxia's talks with Pancretan Bank fell through. This is set to turn online ticket and financial services provider Viva into a bank.

The plan for the acquisition of Praxia Bank by the Pancretan Cooperative Bank has failed. The two lenders had been locked in negotiations since mid-December, but on Friday the Crete-based bank announced that "the due diligence has been completed without the two sides coming to an agreement."

Banker Bob Diamond, formerly chief executive at Barclays and founding partner and CEO of Atlas Merchant Capital Fund LP, only has 12 working days to collect funds of 30 million euros to ensure the operation of Praxia Bank, the digital lender in which Atlas is the exclusive stakeholder.

Among the issues established Greek banks need to worry about these days may also be competition from new online lender Praxia Bank, in which ex-Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has pledged to invest more than 100 million euros, according to Praxia CEO Anastasia Sakellariou.

Greek digital consultancy and market research firm Convert Group reported a 103 percent jump in revenues in the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 2017.

The company said it estimates that this growth rate will be sustained until the end of the year, with turnover set to reach 1.3 million euros.