Turkish lender Garanti Bank, partly owned by Spain's BBVA, wants to expand with the Spanish bank in Eastern Europe, its chief executive told newspaper Cinco Dias in an interview published on Monday.

'The bank's intention is to expand in Romania, where we have 80 branches. And if there are other growth opportunities in that part of the world, we'll study them,' Garanti's Ergun Ozen said.

Ozen said there was likely to be consolidation among Romania's banks, several of which have Greek banks as shareholders.

BBVA bought 24.9 per cent of Garanti last November and has an option to increase its stake by a further 1 per cent and obtain a majority of board seats after five years.-Reuters