One would argue that even Emporiki's deal is a by-product of the last decade since the French side first acquired a minority equity stake in Emporiki in 2000. Mergers and acquisitions flourished in the Greek banking sector in the second half of the 1990s when a number of state-owned and private banks were sold and, especially in 1999, the heyday of stock-market mania, made hefty capital gains. In 1999, when the Athens Stock Exchange hit a historic high, Alpha Bank bought a 51 percent equity stake in Ionian Bank owned by Emporiki and a few months later initiated the process for the merger, solidifying its position as the second-largest commercial bank in the country. It succeeded, although the bigger size came at a cost since the completion of the merger took some time and its profits were hit. Size and the diversification of its business and loan portfolio was behind EFG Eurobank's move to go for Ergasias Bank.