Greece's Eurobank is set to inaugurate its first representative office in India on Thursday, May 21. This strategic move aims to capitalize on burgeoning trade and business opportunities between India and Europe, particularly following the recent completion of a significant trade deal between India and the European Union.
Boosting India-EU Trade and Investment
The new Eurobank India office will serve as a crucial hub for building business relationships, attracting investments, and facilitating knowledge exchange between the regions. Eurobank CEO Fokion Karavias emphasized the bank's intent to weigh trade and investment flows, stating, "We would like to help Indian companies that would like to expand their business across the EU. At the same time, we would like to help Greek and Cypriot companies that have potential interest to expand into the Indian market."
The bank is also keen on strengthening its involvement in the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a project poised to further enhance connectivity and trade.
Pioneering UPI Remittances from Europe
A significant aspect of Eurobank's expansion is its pioneering role in cross-border financial services. It will be the first bank in Europe to enable its remittance service from Greece to India via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This service, already active in Greece and slated for a later launch in Cyprus, covers the entire transaction lifecycle, significantly enhancing financial connectivity between the two markets.
Strategic Growth and Digital Partnerships
While establishing a representative office, Eurobank is taking a measured approach before considering a full-fledged branch in India. Karavias noted, "It will be one step at a time. We are opening an office, and we would like to see the interest around that, and based on this, we may assess our next steps."
Eurobank is not entirely new to India; it has existing collaborations with various Indian IT companies. In 2025, it opened a global development center in Pune with LTI Mindtree and also partners with firms like Accenture and Infosys for digital transformation projects. The bank is also actively discussing long-term business presence and investment in Cyprus with leading Indian companies across sectors such as education, dairy, hospitality, and the film industry.